Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 199 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.4% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, 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 (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.
Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.59%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
DRI has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.46.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Darden Restaurants
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.
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