Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC

Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,832 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,832 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the third quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,850 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $159.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $160.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,206 shares of company stock worth $12,460,313 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.