Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $3.16 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 31.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 555.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,463 shares of company stock valued at $4,997,442. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $215.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.64. The company has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.60.

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.