Quantinno Capital Management LP Lowers Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,885 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.2 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $168.32 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $177.67.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.46.

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.