Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $376,000 Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,482 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 610 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Union Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $157.94 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.11.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Insider Activity

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

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.