Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,756 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.4 %

DRI opened at $208.05 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $195.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.97. The firm has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.