Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 27,960 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,621 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 27,960 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first 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 during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.78. 1,979,507 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,025,128. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.64. The stock has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $180.13.

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.