Entropy Technologies LP Lowers Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Entropy Technologies LP trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,428 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,708 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Citigroup reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

DRI stock opened at $169.25 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $162.38 and its 200 day moving average is $153.26. The company has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.31. 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 issued 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents 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 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.