WoodTrust Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 5,718 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,832,043 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,104,832,000 after acquiring an additional 857,052 shares in the last quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $61,582,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,572,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $209,110,000 after purchasing an additional 394,786 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,911,012,000 after purchasing an additional 362,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5,022.6% during the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 336,143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $40,166,000 after purchasing an additional 329,581 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $125.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.96 and a 1 year high of $158.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.34.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 7th. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 67.13%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 24th. Bank of America started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, September 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $153.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $137.00 to $136.00 in a report on Friday, September 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.43.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 41,442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.71, for a total transaction of $5,168,231.82. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 222,480 shares in the company, valued at $27,745,480.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director Nana Mensah sold 567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total transaction of $66,356.01. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10 shares in the company, valued at $1,170.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 41,442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.71, for a total value of $5,168,231.82. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 222,480 shares in the company, valued at $27,745,480.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Profile

(Get Rating)

Darden Restaurants, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. As of May 29, 2022, it owned and operated 1,867 restaurants, which included 884 under the Olive Garden brand, 546 under the LongHorn Steakhouse brand name, 172 under the Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen brand, 85 under the Yard House brand name, 62 under The Capital Grille brand, 45 under the Seasons 52 brand name, 42 under the Bahama Breeze brand, 28 under the Eddie V's Prime Seafood brand name, and 3 under the Capital Burger brand; and franchised 60 restaurants comprising 35 under the Olive Garden brand, 18 under the LongHorn Steakhouse brand name, 4 under the Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen brand, 2 under The Capital Grille brand name, and 1 under the Bahama Breeze brand.Darden Restaurants, Inc was founded in 1968 and is based in Orlando, Florida.

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