Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 115,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 22,144 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $18,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after acquiring an additional 44,464 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after acquiring an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after acquiring an additional 132,643 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 26,081 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.9 %

DRI stock opened at $167.70 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $163.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.