Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC Sells 94 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,980 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DRI. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’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 value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.0 %

DRI opened at $195.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $183.34 and its 200-day moving average is $167.88. The company has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. 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 one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

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.