17,905 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 17,905 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Union Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $157.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $147.27 and its 200-day moving average is $154.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.