Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. TD Cowen downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $142.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,163,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,411. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.35 and a 200-day moving average of $156.62.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

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.