Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Capital Analysts LLC

Capital Analysts LLC trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,148 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,911,012,000 after purchasing an additional 362,658 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,380,814,000 after acquiring an additional 455,588 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $369,070,000 after acquiring an additional 52,864 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,561,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $396,532,000 after acquiring an additional 54,085 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,006,000 after acquiring an additional 200,342 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Wedbush decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Stephens initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock traded down $1.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $152.64. The stock had a trading volume of 65,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,142,122. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $166.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.59. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.