Farmers National Bank Has $532,000 Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Farmers National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Farmers National Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $164.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,386 shares of company stock valued at $11,780,551. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

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.