9,005 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Acquired by Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A.

Key Points

• Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. opened a new position in Darden Restaurants, buying 9,005 shares valued at about $1.66 million in the fourth quarter.
• Darden posted a solid quarterly update, with EPS of $2.95 topping expectations and revenue of $3.35 billion, up 5.9% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share (annualized yield of 2.9%), while analysts remain generally positive with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $226.24.

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,005 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,657,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 98.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,206,000 after acquiring an additional 31,815 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 164.1% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,319,000 after acquiring an additional 5,830 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,404,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,536,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of DRI opened at $203.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.64. The firm has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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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