Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 900 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,275 shares of company stock worth $5,913,038 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $181.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $189.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.97. The company has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.12.

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.