KBC Group NV Reduces Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

KBC Group NV lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 39.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,311 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 8,809 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade 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 at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4 %

DRI opened at $164.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 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.