Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 6,758 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.1%, owning a total of 51,410 shares worth approximately $10.68 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Darden Restaurants recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $1.50 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.95%.
• The company has approved a $1 billion share repurchase program, indicating its leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 51,410 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 6,758 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $203.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,158,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,092,358. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.76. The company has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.10 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.