Everpar Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,878 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,878 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $369,070,000 after acquiring an additional 52,864 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,006,000 after acquiring an additional 200,342 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,968,301 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $323,392,000 after acquiring an additional 134,098 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after acquiring an additional 202,139 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,639,513 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,811,000 after acquiring an additional 9,232 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. 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. 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 note on Thursday, March 7th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities 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, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value 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 approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $148.01. 1,225,710 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,185,354. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.10. 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 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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 $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.