Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Holdings Lessened by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 395,892 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 32,209 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.33% of Darden Restaurants worth $59,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $72,901,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,601,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 311.1% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 207,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,628,000 after acquiring an additional 156,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after acquiring an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on DRI. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $159.14 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.35. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.