Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Holdings Raised by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 15.16 million shares valued at about $2.79 billion. The fund now owns roughly 13.17% of the company.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $2.95 per share, slightly ahead of expectations, on revenue of $3.35 billion, which was also above estimates. Revenue rose 5.9% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, equal to an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a 3.0% yield. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $226.88.

Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 322,079 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 13.17% of Darden Restaurants worth $2,790,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:DRI opened at $198.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $197.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.88.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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