Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 84.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,384 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,760,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $189.93. 841,990 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,145,115. The firm has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company's 50 day moving average is $191.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

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.