Cadence Bank Has $1.47 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cadence Bank trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,812 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 342.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,719,000 after buying an additional 26,945 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $535,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE DRI traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,163,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,411. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Argus decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.95.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.