Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Holdings Increased by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 78.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 575 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 555.3% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $222.75 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $226.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $207.08 and a 200-day moving average of $195.23. The company has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.39.

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 50.68% and a net margin of 8.96%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $178.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued 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 $212.38.

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.