Stonebrook Private Inc. Has $2.25 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stonebrook Private Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,448. This represents a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $167.70 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.13.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. Research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 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.