New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 51.7%, now owning 21,702 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Darden Restaurants' quarterly earnings report revealed $2.98 EPS, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations, and a 10.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50, up from the previous $1.40, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 51.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 23,186 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Earnest Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 valued at $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 116,047 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 591,668 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $110,458,000 after purchasing an additional 81,131 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded down $4.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $202.16. 1,027,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,124,525. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50-day moving average is $213.27 and its 200 day moving average is $203.53. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.50 and a 52 week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.