Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Has $9.80 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,178 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,241 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 0.9% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 115.3% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 3,619 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 58,701 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,196,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 156,890 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $32,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $221,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $209.33. 1,470,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,344,599. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $213.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.73. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.21 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.74. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.