Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Buys 16,454 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 978,851 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 16,454 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.82% of Darden Restaurants worth $163,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $369,070,000 after buying an additional 52,864 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $328,006,000 after purchasing an additional 200,342 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 11.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,202,711 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $368,183,000 after purchasing an additional 234,410 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,314,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,652. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $164.41 and its 200 day moving average is $159.68. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $3,313,120 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.