Creative Planning Cuts Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Creative Planning decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,526 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,878 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $159.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.56.

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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other 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 directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.