State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 2,684 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,684 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.08 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $211.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $196.69 and its 200 day moving average is $183.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,505 shares of company stock valued at $6,667,929 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.38.

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.