Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,290 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 402 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $349,268,000 after purchasing an additional 105,433 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,572,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $262,867,000 after acquiring an additional 82,356 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 26,081 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $160.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.72. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.18.

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.