Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,051 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 129.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,635 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $217.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $218.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $203.01 and a 200-day moving average of $192.75. The company has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.77.

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.

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