Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 2,826 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 70.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,192 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,826 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 39,795 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,429,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 83,201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $15,533,000 after acquiring an additional 5,878 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 230,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,991,000 after purchasing an additional 13,347 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 23,978 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,476,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 $766,948.30. This trade 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 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.50. 974,284 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,125,399. The stock has a market cap of $23.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $201.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.95 and a 200 day moving average of $166.52.

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 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.