BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Grows Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• BI Asset Management increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 25,785 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 94,979 shares worth about $17.5 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Darden, with 18 Buy ratings and 9 Holds, giving the stock a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $226.88.
• Darden recently beat quarterly estimates, reporting $2.95 EPS on $3.35 billion in revenue, and it also paid a $1.50 quarterly dividend that equates to a 3.0% annual yield.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 37.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,979 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 25,785 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned about 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $17,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 13,425 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.88.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.4%

DRI opened at $198.11 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 firm has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $197.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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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