Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 253 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 253 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,038,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,320,000 after purchasing an additional 34,478 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,639,513 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,811,000 after acquiring an additional 9,232 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $155.01 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.