Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service cut its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 200,260 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,990 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of Darden Restaurants worth $32,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $72,901,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $69,125,000 after acquiring an additional 204,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE DRI traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 916,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,218,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $161.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.