OneAscent Financial Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 102.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,826 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 5,419 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Financial Harvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $2,912,000. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.2% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 93,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $19,383,000 after buying an additional 10,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,132,006. This trade represents a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $206.89 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $138.21 and a one year high of $228.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $214.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.56. The company has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Company 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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