LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,839 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 14,888 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $20,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,282,666 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,466,000 after buying an additional 116,047 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after buying an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 591,668 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $110,458,000 after buying an additional 81,131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $205.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 956,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,786. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $213.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.50 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.75. 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 earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. 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 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total value of $160,160.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.