1,282 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Bought by OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,282 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $48,919,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 227,977 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,938 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,622,000 after acquiring an additional 193,134 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.7%

DRI opened at $209.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.21 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $213.52 and a 200 day moving average of $200.73.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on DRI. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.60.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% 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.