Blue Trust Inc. Grows Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 263.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,453 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 5,401 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,204,000 after acquiring an additional 33,066 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 499.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 13,525 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 11,270 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,364 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $21,158,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,451,000 after purchasing an additional 6,151 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 16.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $164.10. 1,184,706 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,235,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $158.67 and a 200-day moving average of $152.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $542,587.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,038. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $180.13.

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.