NavPoint Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

NavPoint Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,204 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 35,720 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,796,000 after purchasing an additional 4,576 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 17,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,026,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 791.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Running Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,760 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,161,000 after purchasing an additional 7,785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:DRI traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $149.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,864,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,608. The stock has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $163.05 and its 200 day moving average is $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 61.43%.

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.