Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 76.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,604 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 11,969 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,763 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,677,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,603 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,034 shares of company stock worth $8,303,692 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $2.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $196.35. 769,639 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,228. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $179.27 and a 200 day moving average of $164.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $196.65. The firm has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. 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 company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.