Simplicity Wealth LLC reduces equity holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Simplicity Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 13F. The fund owned 3,775 shares of the restaurant operator after selling 84 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $571,000, according to the most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their holdings of DRI. Union Savings Bank increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the same period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 93.64% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street analysts comment

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and gave a $165.00 price target on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on Darden Restaurants stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating. The company currently has a consensus rating of “moderate buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95, according to data from MarketBeat.

Check out our latest analysis on DRI

Darden Restaurants shares down 1.0%

DRI shares fell $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.10. The company had a trading volume of 954,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,592. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20. The restaurant operator reported earnings per share of $2.65 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company reported earnings per share of $2.58. The company’s quarterly revenue grew 8.3% year-over-year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect Darden Restaurants, Inc. to report earnings per share of $9.48 for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants cuts dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will receive a dividend of $1.29. This represents an annualized dividend of $5.16 and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’ dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider buying and selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC’s website. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

(Free report)

Darden Restaurants, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates its businesses under the brand names 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.