NEOS Investment Management LLC Buys 1,241 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,664 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake 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 worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,065 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,685 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $1.84 on Tuesday, hitting $209.60. The stock had a trading volume of 986,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,740. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $195.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.97.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.08.

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.