Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,714 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $642,967,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,919,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 227,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.69.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $224.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.83. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $225.41.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.