Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 587,571 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 30,909 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.50% of Darden Restaurants worth $109,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after acquiring an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 4.9%

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $9.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $213.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,048,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,320,208. The firm has a market cap of $25.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $201.31 and a 200 day moving average of $189.84. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $214.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

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.