J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,749 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $772,635,000 after purchasing an additional 26,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $191.12. 1,385,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,118,371. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $201.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.30. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.