Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc.

Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,569 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 766 shares during the period. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,451,000 after purchasing an additional 6,151 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,945 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 103,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,248,000 after buying an additional 4,526 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at $628,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $166.78 on Friday. 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 $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS 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 net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DRI. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

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.