Foundry Partners LLC Buys 10,165 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 10,165 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants accounts for 1.0% of Foundry Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Foundry Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $19,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have 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 Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $208.06. 376,055 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,338,694. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.56. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change 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 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on DRI. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

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.