Federated Hermes Inc. Has $4.84 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,925 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 6,152 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $1.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $197.90. 936,158 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,285,791. The company has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $195.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,264 shares of company stock valued at $9,058,583 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.