US Bancorp DE Has $23.29 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 141,917 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,423 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $23,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped 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. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other 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 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 approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $159.72 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.79. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

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.