Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 23.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,905 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 38,443 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Darden Restaurants worth $25,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total transaction of $1,514,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $206.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $138.21 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company's fifty day moving average is $214.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DRI. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

About Darden Restaurants

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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