King Wealth Management Group Sells 1,375 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

King Wealth Management Group decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 33.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,375 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp increased their price objective 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 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,448. This trade represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $168.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $162.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.56. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 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.