Portfolio Design Labs LLC Cuts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 74.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 13,269 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,459,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,223,383. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.42 and a 200-day moving average of $153.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 announced 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. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, 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 transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price 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, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.