Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Increases Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,901,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after buying an additional 204,832 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $168.69 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,448. This trade represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

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.