Marco Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Marco Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,451,000 after buying an additional 6,151 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 16.4% in 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,995,000 after purchasing an additional 163,693 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth about $621,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $167.69 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. The stock has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $163.80 and its 200 day moving average is $154.18. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 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 sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

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.