SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 523.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 163,693 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.16% of Darden Restaurants worth $31,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of DRI opened at $161.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $154.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 74,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,323,138. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. 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 note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.