Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Invests $275,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,474 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $241,121,000 after acquiring an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $61,959,000 after acquiring an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $181.58. 931,685 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,474,956. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $189.18. The stock's 50 day moving average is $175.97 and its 200-day moving average is $162.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,275 shares of company stock worth $5,913,038. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.12.

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.