Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 18.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,488 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,128 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.20% of Darden Restaurants worth $39,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.8% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 234.3% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $13,074,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,555 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,937,000 after buying an additional 4,913 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,563 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,279,000 after buying an additional 29,989 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 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 target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $174.98 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $177.58.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. 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 3.20%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 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.