HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.60 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 17.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,869 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,394 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $166.60 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.39 and a 200-day moving average of $156.41.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its 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 firm 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted 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 Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 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, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,448. This represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.