Foundry Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Foundry Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,610 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 573 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $13,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 93.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $409,000. Hilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the third quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 35,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $682,000. Finally, First City Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. This trade represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.1 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $162.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $163.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.92.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

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.