Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 111.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $241,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $167.70 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.13.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.