Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,204 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 24.5% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 11,181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 25.0% during the third quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 26,219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,303,000 after buying an additional 5,247 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the third quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 4,327 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 107.9% during the third quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 60,674 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,098,000 after buying an additional 31,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,706 shares of company stock worth $12,813,038 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $162.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $157.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.46.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business 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 is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 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.