Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 107.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,674 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 31,495 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $10,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 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 research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Argus cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. The trade was 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 Up 0.0 %

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $159.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 49,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $156.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.66.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

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.