Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants comprises about 0.9% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $207.90 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $194.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.98.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DRI. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,022 shares of company stock valued at $13,183,803 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.