IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,308 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $266,000. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 52,730 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,955,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,463 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $217.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 96,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,380,538. The firm has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.05.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations 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 was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total value of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DRI. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.60.

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.