Distillate Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 95,661 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $14,475,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Darden Restaurants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after buying an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,572,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,867,000 after purchasing an additional 82,356 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $172.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $151.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.28.

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.