Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 408 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,659 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 408 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after acquiring an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,125,000 after acquiring an additional 204,832 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE DRI opened at $174.98 on Friday. 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 market cap of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.67 and a 200-day moving average of $154.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.58.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.