Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 82,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 13,313 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $13,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 26,081 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $162.59 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.53 and its 200-day moving average is $153.92.

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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 99.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

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.