Cwm LLC Grows Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 115.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,759 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,619 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after acquiring an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,282,666 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $239,466,000 after purchasing an additional 116,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after buying an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $209.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.21 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $214.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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