Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Sells 1,235 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,985 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,235 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $31,000. Union Savings Bank increased its position 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of DRI traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $158.54. 64,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,444. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.90 and a 200 day moving average of $154.07.

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

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

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.