Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS Purchases New Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS has invested approximately $3.65 million in Darden Restaurants, purchasing 17,548 shares during the first quarter.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase to $1.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.00 with a yield of 2.96%.
• Darden Restaurants has initiated a $1 billion share buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares, signifying confidence in its stock valuation.

Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,548 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,646,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $286,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares in the company, valued at $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $203.12. The company had a trading volume of 476,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,357,279. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $214.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.32. The firm has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.10 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Profile

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.