Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.
Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6 %
DRI opened at $168.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $162.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% 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.
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