Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 19.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,243 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,884 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,954 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10,491.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 127,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,233,000 after acquiring an additional 125,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the 2nd 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 71.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,345,000 after purchasing an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,905 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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 on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.28.

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.