Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 23.4% in the first quarter, holding $3.06 million worth of shares at the end of the reporting period.
• Darden recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.98, beating analysts' estimates, and achieved a revenue of $3.27 billion, a 10.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share, which results in an annualized yield of 2.9% and is part of a newly authorized $1 billion stock repurchase program.

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,739 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,503 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $4.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $202.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,027,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,525. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $140.50 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $213.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

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.