Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 614 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,837 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of DRI opened at $160.02 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

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.