Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 39,189 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.43% of Darden Restaurants worth $530,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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Darden Restaurants Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $10.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $196.75. 2,018,175 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,286,326. 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 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $196.14 and its 200-day moving average is $180.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

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.