Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 42,079 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) by 3.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,284,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,079 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $162,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,757,686 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $727,311,000 after purchasing an additional 763,728 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 33.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,572,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $209,110,000 after purchasing an additional 394,786 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,911,012,000 after purchasing an additional 362,658 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 151.9% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 593,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $74,924,000 after purchasing an additional 357,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $334,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.95, for a total transaction of $283,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,069.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $334,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,229 shares of company stock worth $1,358,200 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on DRI shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $148.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 19th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 29th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.76.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $148.50 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $110.96 and a one year high of $152.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 16th. The restaurant operator reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 42.51%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 7.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Darden Restaurants

(Get Rating)

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.