Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,386 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,020 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.9% during the first quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 186,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,681 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $159.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.60. 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 cap of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. 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. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.