MAI Capital Management Sells 948 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

MAI Capital Management reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,480 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 948 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,151 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,945 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 103,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,248,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $164.78 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.99.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

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.