Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Running Oak Capital LLC

Running Oak Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,996 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up about 2.0% of Running Oak Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Running Oak Capital LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,019,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.27.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $221.12. 1,685,738 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,332,354. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $208.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. 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 presently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.