DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP Invests $505,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,337 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE DRI opened at $167.95 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.39. The firm has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,386 shares of company stock valued at $11,446,091. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.