Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 53,445 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 53,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $8,087,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at $1,719. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,386 shares of company stock worth $11,446,091 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $166.71 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $153.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

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.