Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 34.0%, owning 3,471 shares after selling 1,786 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Darden Restaurants, with Evercore ISI and Oppenheimer both increasing it to $250.00, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.
• Darden's board authorized a $1 billion stock repurchase program, indicating that the company believes its stock is undervalued, alongside a dividend increase from $1.40 to $1.50 per share.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 34.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,471 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,786 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after acquiring an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 158,168 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,282,666 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,466,000 after acquiring an additional 116,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $206.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.82 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants 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.

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