Associated Banc Corp Sells 134 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,818 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $175.21 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $177.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $164.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.43. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants 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.