Royal Fund Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Royal Fund Management LLC lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,756 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 652 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Stephens assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,864,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,608. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.05 and a 200-day moving average of $159.75. The company has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced 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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend 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.