Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 2,155 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,757 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5 %

DRI stock opened at $204.89 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $194.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.47. The stock has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants 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.