Intech Investment Management LLC Has $1.95 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE DRI opened at $167.69 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.80 and a 200-day moving average of $154.23. The company has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. 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 3.34%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

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.