Eagle Asset Management Inc. Has $7.94 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $167.69 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results 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 for 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%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

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.