DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $53.75 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 324,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,893 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $53,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $159.92 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $160.58 and its 200 day moving average is $152.53. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.83 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 (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). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was 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 Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313. Insiders own 0.85% 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.