SFE Investment Counsel Invests $667,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,575 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in 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 valued at $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $40,048,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:DRI traded down $2.63 on Monday, hitting $190.83. 1,149,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,033,882. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $185.15 and a 200-day moving average of $169.22. The stock has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $201.94.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last three months. 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.