Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Makes New $933,000 Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 6,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 37.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 85,183 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,890,000 after acquiring an additional 23,287 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.0% during the second quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,061 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 22.9% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 33,417 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,232 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $473,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, BTIG Research raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $157.43 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.07. The company has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’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 value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.