Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Holdings Decreased by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,255 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $159.72 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $161.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.79. 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 $18.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given 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 dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio 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.