Covenant Partners LLC Sells 979 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Covenant Partners LLC cut its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,336 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 979 shares during the period. Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,206 shares of company stock worth $12,460,313. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:DRI traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.92. 691,387 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,229,235. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.58 and its 200-day moving average is $152.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

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.