Paloma Partners Management Co Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,556 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after purchasing an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $171.22 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.67.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results 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 business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

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.