Martingale Asset Management L P Lowers Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 82.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 52,915 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $176.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.67. The company has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $164.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.08. 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 announced its earnings results 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by 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.