Arkadios Wealth Advisors Has $5.47 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Saxon Interests Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 4,782 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $893,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Retireful LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,586,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,497 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 452.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860 shares during the period. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $915,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

DRI stock opened at $181.58 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18. The company has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.72 and a 200-day moving average of $161.97.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,275 shares of company stock valued at $5,913,038. Company insiders own 0.58% 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.