Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,564 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,937 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants accounts for approximately 2.1% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.0% in the first quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 79,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,340,000 after purchasing an additional 6,551 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 35.3% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 5,403 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 1,409 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 60.8% in the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,380,814,000 after acquiring an additional 455,588 shares in the last quarter. 94.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DRI traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.36. The stock had a trading volume of 56,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,561. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.23. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.20 and a fifty-two week high of $173.06.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 47.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 7th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $186.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $172.00 to $187.00 in a report on Monday, June 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.70.

Get Our Latest Research Report on DRI

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.75, for a total transaction of $2,302,984.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,700,682. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 23,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.04, for a total transaction of $3,948,668.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,163,110.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,811 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.75, for a total value of $2,302,984.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,700,682. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,775 shares of company stock valued at $43,532,251 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

(Free Report)

Darden Restaurants, Inc, through 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 brands.