Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st 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 purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

DRI stock opened at $156.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.78 and a 200-day moving average of $152.68. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors 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 3.57%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,038. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.