Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,365 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 118,608 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $240,832,000 after buying an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $172,811,000 after acquiring an additional 132,643 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $152,066,000 after acquiring an additional 26,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 933,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $155,951,000 after acquiring an additional 85,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,038. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $161.12 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $159.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.44. 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 one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

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.