Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 97.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,825 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 716,267 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,204,000 after purchasing an additional 33,066 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 499.8% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 13,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,364 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,158,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,945 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. 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 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. 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 research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $159.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.79.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

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.