GWN Securities Inc. Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $772,635,000 after acquiring an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $700,210,000 after acquiring an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $187.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $191.22 and its 200-day moving average is $175.86. The stock has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $203.12.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.