M&T Bank Corp Buys 380 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 380 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.7% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,495 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,826,000 after buying an additional 2,849 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,118,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 63.4% in the third quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 2,332 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 226.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 109,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,896,000 after purchasing an additional 75,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction 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 $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.46.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $165.02 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $177.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.28. The company has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

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.