Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14,338.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,406 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,327 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $72,901,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,125,000 after buying an additional 204,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE DRI opened at $159.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $160.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.