Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $777,000.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.7 %
Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $175.04 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.35 and its 200 day moving average is $154.61. The stock has a market cap of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $177.58. 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 Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 currently 64.59%.
Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants
In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719. This trade represents a 99.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Darden Restaurants
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.
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