1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 78 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,133,000 after buying an additional 44,464 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $152,066,000 after acquiring an additional 26,081 shares during the period. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 933,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $155,951,000 after purchasing an additional 85,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This 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 valued at $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $160.27 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.70. The firm has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. 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 $176.84.

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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.