MQS Management LLC Invests $574,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $72,901,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after acquiring an additional 204,832 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE DRI opened at $167.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $162.56 and a 200-day moving average of $153.34.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,448. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.