Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 9,249 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,249 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 15.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $196.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $197.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.59.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.