Principal Securities Inc. Raises Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 414 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was 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 worth $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $191.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’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 earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

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.