Truist Financial Corp Has $12.13 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,846 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,272 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $12,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $369,070,000 after buying an additional 52,864 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $328,006,000 after buying an additional 200,342 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,968,301 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $323,392,000 after buying an additional 134,098 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,148,000 after buying an additional 202,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,639,513 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $234,811,000 after buying an additional 9,232 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DRI. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $151.15 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $164.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.82. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 61.43%.

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.