SVB Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 1,862 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake 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 and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,862 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $195.06. 1,151,526 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,138,578. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $190.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.12. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm 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%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

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.