Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 89.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,823 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 25,125 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $166.78 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

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.