Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 62.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,799 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,826 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 980.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $152.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is owned by 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.