Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,797 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,364 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,158,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,151 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 103,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,248,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 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 issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were 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 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 quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $167.06. 294,449 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,216,060. The business has a 50 day moving average of $162.38 and a 200 day moving average of $153.26. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.31.

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%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

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.