OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,282 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
DRI traded down $3.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $209.33. 1,470,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,344,599. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $213.52 and a 200 day moving average of $200.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.21 and a 52 week high of $228.27.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 67.57%.
Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants
In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.60.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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