Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 73 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,151 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 16.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,945 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,995,000 after purchasing an additional 163,693 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $166.78 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.66. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year 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 $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.