State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,935 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,865 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $72,901,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after acquiring an additional 204,832 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $160.02 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $161.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $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 an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

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.