Swedbank AB Sells 294 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Swedbank AB cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 78,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $12,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during 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 bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $164.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $158.24 and a 200-day moving average of $152.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,038 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 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 seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.