Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 39.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,084 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 207.5% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 3,202 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% during the second quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,023 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the first quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,161,481 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $180,215,000 after buying an additional 71,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellevest Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 363.3% during the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,251 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.83.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $155.87 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $144.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.90 and a 1-year high of $173.06. The company has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 21st. The restaurant operator reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 6th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 1,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.43, for a total transaction of $151,330.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,221.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.62, for a total transaction of $414,112.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,393,505.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 1,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.43, for a total value of $151,330.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,221.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,255 shares of company stock valued at $741,016. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.