Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Has $495,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $162.54 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.58. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.