Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,851 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $8,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 206.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,204,000 after purchasing an additional 33,066 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 499.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 13,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after buying an additional 11,270 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,364 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,158,000 after buying an additional 7,184 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $161.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.82. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. 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 3.47%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.