Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Darden Restaurants worth $24,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $241,121,000 after acquiring an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $334,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,602,433.26. The trade was a 11.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,548 shares of company stock worth $2,680,347. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $188.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,209,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,264. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.27. The company has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $188.95.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.44.

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.