Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Purchases 1,031 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after acquiring an additional 44,464 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 26,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 933,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $155,951,000 after buying an additional 85,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $170.94 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $161.44 and its 200 day moving average is $152.89. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, research 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 was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid 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 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.