Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Purchases 1,579 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE owned about 0.16% of Darden Restaurants worth $31,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 164,249 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $23,524,000 after buying an additional 5,703 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 59,337 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,407 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,799 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $2.98 during trading on Monday, hitting $148.34. 898,899 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,202,087. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.50%.

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.