Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Position Lowered by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 87.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,348 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,153,875 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Darden Restaurants worth $30,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 raised 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 worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $195.06 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.52.

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.

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