NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 15.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 42,590 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,706 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased 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 valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake 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 during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21,366.7% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,258,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,386 shares of company stock worth $11,780,551. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $164.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $154.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

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.