Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 3,454 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,136 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,454 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.10 on Friday, reaching $204.89. 798,208 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,275,775. The company has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $194.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.