Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 15,747 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Alps Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,817 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 15,747 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.11% of Darden Restaurants worth $27,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $17,949,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61,530 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,480 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,795 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE DRI traded down $3.55 on Friday, hitting $209.33. 1,470,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,344,599. The company's 50 day moving average price is $213.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.21 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on DRI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total value of $160,160.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,139,189.50. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.