Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 96,162.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants accounts for approximately 3.8% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned approximately 7.54% of Darden Restaurants worth $1,454,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $628,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 worth $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 100.2% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,039 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $439,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 represents a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $166.75 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $176.84. 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 company has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.