Cerity Partners LLC Has $2.21 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 21.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,133,000 after acquiring an additional 44,464 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after acquiring an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $176.27 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $177.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.12. The firm has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.31. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 64.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 99.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.