Modera Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’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 directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $192.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $190.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

About Darden Restaurants

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.