Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Purchases 500 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,439 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $160.27 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $161.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.70.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS 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 issued 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 is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,448. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.