Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 2,432 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,350 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $8,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $185.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $189.18. The firm has a market cap of $21.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.90.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.52.

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.