Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $1.58 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,988 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.90 and a 200-day moving average of $153.49. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday. Argus cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.