Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,311 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 8,809 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $160.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,247,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,267. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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.

About Darden Restaurants

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.