Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Invests $24.16 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension opened a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter, buying 131,295 shares worth about $24.16 million.
• Darden’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $2.95 and revenue of $3.35 billion, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year.
• The company also paid a $1.50 quarterly dividend and has continued to draw mostly positive analyst sentiment, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a target price of $226.24.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 131,295 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $24,161,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned 0.11% of Darden Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,941,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,132 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 5,125 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 45,020 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,239,000 after buying an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 101,812 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $18,735,000 after buying an additional 4,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related 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 value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $194.43 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $198.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.08. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on DRI. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.

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