Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 8,638 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,341 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21,366.7% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $1,258,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 509.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,323,138 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $161.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

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.