Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $30.68 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,342 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 32,273 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Darden Restaurants worth $30,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DRI. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 17,019 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 1,496 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $642,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,756 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 21,676 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,091,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $1.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $209.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 986,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,931. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $195.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.32. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.08.

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.