Wedmont Private Capital Acquires Shares of 1,501 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,501 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Union Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.8% during the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $144.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.23 and its 200-day moving average is $155.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. TD Cowen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.95.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.