Spire Wealth Management Has $4.88 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Spire Wealth Management lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,034 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Union Savings Bank boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9 %

DRI traded up $1.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $158.15. 1,103,482 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,300. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.21. The firm has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

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

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Darden Restaurants 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.