Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. cut its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,204 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,503 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $213.35.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.5%

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $3.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,826,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,416. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $208.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86% 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, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.