Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 7,219 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,569,729 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,219 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $422,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $343,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 36,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,761,000 after buying an additional 8,969 shares in the last quarter. NavPoint Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $362,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 35,720 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,796,000 after acquiring an additional 4,576 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DRI. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued 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 target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.3 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.06. 1,557,806 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,184,896. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $162.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.05.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 over the last quarter. 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.