Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Reduces Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 89.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,537 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 207.5% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,202 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the second quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,023 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the first quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,161,481 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $180,215,000 after acquiring an additional 71,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellevest Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 363.3% in the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,251 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.53% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $155.86. The company had a trading volume of 784,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,976. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $144.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.56. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $131.90 and a one year high of $173.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 21st. The restaurant operator reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.13%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 6th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 1,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.43, for a total value of $151,330.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,221.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.03, for a total transaction of $175,572.57. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,440.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 1,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.43, for a total value of $151,330.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,221.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,255 shares of company stock valued at $741,016. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.83.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, through 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 brands.