Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Position Increased by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $169.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.26.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

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.