Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.

Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. decreased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,351 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants accounts for about 3.3% of Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $216.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $203.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.47. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $220.79.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Stephens lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.77.

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.