UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. Grows Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,134 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,100 shares during the quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Darden Restaurants worth $49,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 157.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 386 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $143.97 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.96 and a 52-week high of $152.08. The stock has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.82.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The restaurant operator reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 42.51% and a net margin of 9.10%. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 7.82 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.76%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.95, for a total transaction of $283,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,364 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,069.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.95, for a total value of $283,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,755,069.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard L. Renninger sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.99, for a total value of $739,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,368 shares in the company, valued at $3,310,240.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,229 shares of company stock worth $1,358,200. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Wedbush raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.76.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.