Stonebrook Private Inc. Sells 114 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stonebrook Private Inc. lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $167.70 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Corporate 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.