Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,419 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,432 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants accounts for about 0.9% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third 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. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $459,216,000 after acquiring an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $386,133,000 after acquiring an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of DRI traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,033,882. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $185.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's 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.