World Investment Advisors Has $8.14 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,859 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $8,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their position. 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $209.80 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $196.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.53. The firm has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, 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 (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

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.