Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Qsemble Capital Management LP

Qsemble Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,524 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,241 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants comprises 0.9% of Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $8.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $175.88. The company had a trading volume of 343,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,087. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $20.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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). The company 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 was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719. This trade represents a 99.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants 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.