Truist Financial Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Truist Financial increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.5% in Q4 to 61,922 shares (about 0.05% ownership) valued at approximately $11.4 million.
• Darden reported Q4 EPS of $2.95 (beat by $0.01) on revenue of $3.35 billion (up 5.9% year-over-year) and pays a quarterly dividend of $1.50 ($6.00 annualized, ~3.1% yield).
• Analysts are broadly positive—18 Buys vs. 9 Holds with a consensus price target of $226.24—while company insiders have recently sold shares, including an SVP sale of 3,620 shares.

Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,922 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 5,348 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE DRI opened at $195.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. 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 is 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.24.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants 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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