Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,506 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,320,000 after acquiring an additional 34,478 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE DRI traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $152.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 960,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,765. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction 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 on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.