M&G Plc Has $938,000 Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

M&G Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 91.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 65,675 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Union Savings Bank raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.8% during the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DRI traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $144.20. 760,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,512. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95.

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.