Cwm LLC Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position 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 during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,706 shares of company stock worth $12,813,038 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. KeyCorp boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $164.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.52.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share 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 $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

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.