Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,343 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,403 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.8% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $2,095,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 234.3% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 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 MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,448. This represents a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $167.69 on Monday. 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 $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.80 and its 200-day moving average is $154.23.

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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.59%.

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.