Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,242 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of DRI opened at $200.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $181.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.52. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.09.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

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.