OmniStar Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

OmniStar Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 151.6% during the 3rd quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 84,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,807,000 after purchasing an additional 50,690 shares during the last quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.2% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,099 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.33. The company had a trading volume of 184,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,131. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $158.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.54. The stock has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,038 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.