Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Amundi

Amundi lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 121,015 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.79% of Darden Restaurants worth $171,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in 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 period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.52.

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Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction 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 $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $190.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,244,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,084. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $22.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The business's fifty day moving average price is $191.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.13. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.15%.

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.