6,577 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Purchased by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC opened a new position in Darden Restaurants, buying 6,577 shares valued at about $1.21 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest remains high, with several other funds adding to their holdings; overall, 93.64% of Darden’s stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Darden recently posted solid results, with quarterly EPS of $2.95 and revenue of $3.35 billion, both slightly above expectations, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $226.24.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,577 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 117.5% in the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 7,310 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,345,000 after buying an additional 3,949 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,281 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,536 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,755,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 2,590 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 950 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $197.29 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $197.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 63.49%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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