Commerce Bank Sells 4,317 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank has decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.2%, now owning 55,287 shares valued at approximately $11.5 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Darden Restaurants, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its position by 46,484.5%.
• Darden Restaurants announced a new quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing an increase from the previous dividend and a yield of 2.9%.

Commerce Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,287 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,317 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $11,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,317 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,559,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the first quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,006 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 111,819 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $23,232,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Melius started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $1.85 on Friday, hitting $203.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,158,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,280. The company has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.10 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.07. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.