Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Has $20.29 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its Darden Restaurants stake by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 110,268 shares valued at about $20.29 million.
• Darden’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.95 versus $2.94 expected and revenue of $3.35 billion, up 5.9% from a year ago.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share and has drawn largely positive analyst sentiment, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $226.24.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,268 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 8,438 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants accounts for approximately 1.5% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Darden Restaurants worth $20,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 13,425 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 13,137 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $196.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $198.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.61. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Stephens lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.24.

About Darden Restaurants

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.