Forsta AP Fonden Trims Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Forsta AP Fonden cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $195.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $196.80.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.