SPC Financial Inc. Trims Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SPC Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $164.22 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,706 shares of company stock worth $12,813,038 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

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.