SVB Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,223 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $167,359,000 after buying an additional 418,860 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 27.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,602,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,516,000 after purchasing an additional 340,467 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $45,321,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after acquiring an additional 202,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,006,000 after acquiring an additional 200,342 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $155.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $164.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.13.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

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

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.