DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Acquires 9,893 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 324,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,893 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.27% of Darden Restaurants worth $53,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.3% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,837 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently 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 Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.53.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.