Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Grows Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 478.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 14,678 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Embree Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 1,681 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers National Bank boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 3,597 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $207.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $196.31 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.37. The stock has a market cap of $22.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,787,992. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.