Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,493 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,661 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 22,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,358,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 92.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 29,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,500,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,323,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 403,030 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,986,000 after acquiring an additional 23,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $187.69 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $189.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.70.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.