Stonebrook Private Inc. Buys Shares of 11,245 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stonebrook Private Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 11,245 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,848,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 324.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were 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 owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $3,313,120. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 886,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,157. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.38. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

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.