D.A. Davidson & CO. Boosts Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 21.9% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,944,000 after buying an additional 8,480 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 523.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,995,000 after purchasing an additional 163,693 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $682,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $170.73 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $177.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.29. The stock has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,448. This trade represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

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.