Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Cuts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $420,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $4,619,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 548.6% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 22,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,726,000 after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, October 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.7 %

DRI opened at $176.27 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $164.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.12. 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 stock has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $177.67.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.59%.

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.