Boston Partners Sells 8,365 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.3%, selling 8,365 shares in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 652,510 shares valued at approximately $135.6 million.
• Darden Restaurants announced a **$1 billion share repurchase plan**, indicating the company's belief that its shares are undervalued.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed a **10.6% revenue increase** year-over-year, outperforming analysts' expectations with a revenue of $3.27 billion and an EPS of $2.98.

Boston Partners decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 652,510 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 8,365 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.56% of Darden Restaurants worth $135,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,612 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $85,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 191,988 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $39,887,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.2% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 37,994 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,878,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,734 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $1.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $207.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,337,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,024,264. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.08 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.17. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total transaction of $1,514,882.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve equities 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, Darden Restaurants presently has an average 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.