Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,135 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE owned about 0.15% of Darden Restaurants worth $30,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $369,070,000 after purchasing an additional 52,864 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,006,000 after purchasing an additional 200,342 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,968,301 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $323,392,000 after purchasing an additional 134,098 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,639,513 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,232 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of DRI stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.60. 834,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,285. The company has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. 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 earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, 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 have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.