Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 10,940 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,490 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $17,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth 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 increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $188.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $191.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.07. The stock has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents 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 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.