Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 16,351 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 30.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 16,351 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,264 shares of company stock worth $9,058,583 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $2.16 on Friday, reaching $200.03. The stock had a trading volume of 925,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,606. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The business's 50-day moving average price is $196.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.10. The stock has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.