Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 2,808 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,787 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,808 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,944,000 after purchasing an additional 8,480 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth approximately $777,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $459,216,000 after buying an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,995,000 after acquiring an additional 163,693 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. BTIG Research upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 58,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:DRI traded up $4.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $187.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,138,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $188.88. The business's 50-day moving average is $166.87 and its 200-day moving average is $157.30. 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 cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.15%.

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.