QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $1.27 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,761 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 11,373 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $168.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.16 and its 200 day moving average is $153.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

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.