Congress Asset Management Co. Reduces Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,956 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,170 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,331,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,163.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,977 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,693,000 after purchasing an additional 63,519 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 478.9% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 17,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 14,678 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 17,844 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 83,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,844,000 after buying an additional 32,678 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold 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 $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $201.51 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $480,954.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.