Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Stake Raised by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden more than doubled its stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter, buying an additional 37,000 shares to bring its total to 73,900 shares valued at about $13.6 million.
• Darden reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.95 versus $2.94 expected and revenue of $3.35 billion, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share and continues to draw a generally bullish analyst outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.32.

Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 100.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,900 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 37,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $13,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE DRI opened at $204.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $197.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.54.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.32.

Darden Restaurants 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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