Prospector Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Prospector Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 31.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,019 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,741 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 1.8% of Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Prospector Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $75,137,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,556,000 after purchasing an additional 182,275 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $700,210,000 after acquiring an additional 170,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $171,288,000 after purchasing an additional 121,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $192.28 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $196.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.