Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 3,494 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.5%, acquiring an additional 3,494 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 29,419 shares valued at $6,112,000.
• Darden Restaurants reported earnings of $2.98 per share for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan signifying its confidence in the stock's value.
• Insider trading activities saw CFO Rajesh Vennam and SVP Susan M. Connelly significantly reduce their shareholdings, selling 5,780 and 4,735 shares respectively, indicating a potential shift in confidence among executives.

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,419 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 3,494 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $6,810,000. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,464.8% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 70,903 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,237,000 after acquiring an additional 66,372 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,001,000 after acquiring an additional 13,074 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3,730.0% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 9,958 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 9,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $541,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Melius began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $203.52 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.10 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.

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