Mackenzie Financial Corp Cuts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,620 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $349,268,000 after purchasing an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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 worth $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after buying an additional 18,899 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after acquiring an additional 132,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,386 shares of company stock worth $11,780,551. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $164.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $154.28 and a 200-day moving average of $152.96. The company has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. 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 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

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.