Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Holdings Decreased by Peddock Capital Advisors LLC

Peddock Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after acquiring an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position 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 worth $233,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,038 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5 %

DRI traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $158.32. 155,710 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,543. The company has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

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.