AGP Franklin LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,255,000. Darden Restaurants makes up about 2.0% of AGP Franklin LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $195,422,000 after buying an additional 102,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $171,288,000 after acquiring an additional 121,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded up $2.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $200.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 925,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,919. The company has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,264 shares of company stock worth $9,058,583. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.