Bridgewater Associates LP Has $6.13 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 66.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 73,547 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position 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 period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third 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 period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of DRI opened at $176.42 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.89. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $177.67. The company has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

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 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants 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.