International Assets Investment Management LLC Invests $17.20 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 104,698 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 980.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 93.5% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 240 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $155.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% 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.