Eastern Bank Has $1.72 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Eastern Bank decreased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,176 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $772,635,000 after acquiring an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $182.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,228,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,110. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given 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 $189.12.

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.