Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 1,028 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.0 %

DRI stock opened at $191.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $187.90 and its 200-day moving average is $171.04. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $201.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

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.