First Business Financial Services Inc. Acquires 817 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,878 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $628,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the first 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. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.1% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,364 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,158,000 after buying an additional 7,184 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $168.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

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.