Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,534 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.9% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,944,000 after buying an additional 8,480 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,398,000 after buying an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,995,000 after buying an additional 163,693 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $682,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6 %

DRI stock opened at $174.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.75. 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 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $177.58.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 99.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. The trade was a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Corporate insiders own 0.58% 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.