Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $215.87 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 56.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,315,223 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,701,565 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.12% of Darden Restaurants worth $215,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.88 on Tuesday, reaching $167.37. 360,349 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,216,360. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.38 and a 200 day moving average of $153.26. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

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.