Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. Invests $342,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,259 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Union Savings Bank raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $144.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.23 and a 200 day moving average of $155.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.95.

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.