Raymond James Trust N.A. Has $4.31 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.9% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,944,000 after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 93.8% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth $409,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the firm’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 owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. This trade represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $167.70 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.85 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 50-day simple moving average of $163.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.13.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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