Natixis Advisors LLC Has $23.23 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,819 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,329 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Darden Restaurants worth $23,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $286,000. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 20th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $203.52 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $214.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.76. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.10 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

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.