NEOS Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,664 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,065 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 121.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,903 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $10.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $199.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 718,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,273,489. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.53. 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 market cap of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Darden Restaurants 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.