Capital International Investors Sells 232,116 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Capital International Investors trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,070,544 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 232,116 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned 8.60% of Darden Restaurants worth $1,880,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,901,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,081,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 824.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,687,000 after purchasing an additional 36,334 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $24,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $200.03 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50 day moving average price is $195.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,264 shares of company stock valued at $9,058,583 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

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.

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