Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $357,000 Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Union Savings Bank increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 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 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’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 owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $161.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.41.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.