FORA Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

FORA Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 207.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,289 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after purchasing an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $175.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $164.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This trade represents a 99.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

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.