Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Key Points

• Burney Co. cut its Darden stake by 91.9%, selling 107,603 shares in the quarter and leaving 9,457 shares valued at about $1.74 million in its most recent 13F filing.
• Darden beat quarterly EPS ($2.95 vs. $2.94) with revenue up 5.9% year-over-year, and the company declared a $1.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.00, ~3.1% yield) with an ex-dividend date of April 10.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" on DRI, with 18 Buys and 9 Holds and a consensus price target of $226.24.

Burney Co. trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 91.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,457 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 107,603 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,206,000 after buying an additional 31,815 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 164.1% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 3,027 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $2,536,000. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,743,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,816,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $191.38 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $21.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $204.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DRI. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,787,992. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,967 shares of company stock valued at $2,536,092. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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