Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 207.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,289 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the 1st 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. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $175.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $177.58.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

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.