Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Grows Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays raised 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 equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $168.48 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.12. The company has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Corporate 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.