PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Acquires New Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• PFA Pension disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Darden of 9,675 shares (~$1.79M); overall, institutional investors own about 93.64% of the stock, with JPMorgan holding 2,666,919 shares (~$507.7M).
• Darden recently reported quarterly EPS of $2.95 (beating consensus by $0.01) and revenue of $3.35B, up 5.9% year-over-year, with a market cap around $22.0B and a P/E of 20.33.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.50 (annualized $6.00) for a yield of 3.1%, and analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $226.24 (18 Buys, 9 Holds).

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,675 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,789,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 98.5% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,206,000 after acquiring an additional 31,815 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 164.1% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 3,027 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $2,536,000. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $6,743,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $207.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $192.08 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27. 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 company has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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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