Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 447 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $159.92 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

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.