Edgestream Partners L.P. Increases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

DRI stock traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.49. The company had a trading volume of 379,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,217. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.20 and a 200 day moving average of $157.15. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.