Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Sells 138 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. cut its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 88,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $848,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,386 shares of company stock valued at $11,446,091. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1 %

DRI opened at $167.95 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 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $152.92 and a 200-day moving average of $153.39.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

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.