CX Institutional Grows Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,099 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $72,901,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $105,345,000 after purchasing an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,125,000 after buying an additional 204,832 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,995,000 after buying an additional 163,693 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,706 shares of company stock worth $12,813,038 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $162.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $157.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.46.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

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.