Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,203 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,760,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $200.41 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.94. The company has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.75. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants 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.