HM Payson & Co. Raises Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted 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 valued at $172,811,000 after buying an additional 132,643 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 26,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 933,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $155,951,000 after buying an additional 85,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This represents 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 this link. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $160.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.18 and a 200 day moving average of $152.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

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.