Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Holdings Lowered by SteelPeak Wealth LLC

SteelPeak Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,234 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,558 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 228 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $196.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $205.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.55.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.