DNB Asset Management AS Purchases 9,587 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• DNB Asset Management AS increased its Darden Restaurants stake by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,587 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 31,672 shares worth about $5.83 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus on Darden, with an average price target of $226.24, while several firms recently raised targets.
• Darden recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.95 versus $2.94 expected and revenue of $3.35 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share.

DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,672 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 9,587 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE DRI opened at $194.09 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.25. The stock has a market cap of $22.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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