Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 35.1% during the 1st quarter, purchasing an additional 3,200 shares, bringing its total ownership to 12,317 shares valued at approximately $2.56 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported earnings of $2.98 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and achieved a revenue of $3.27 billion, up 10.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan, reflecting management’s belief that the stock is currently undervalued, along with a recent increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 35.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,317 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after acquiring an additional 158,168 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 116,047 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 591,668 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $110,458,000 after acquiring an additional 81,131 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,139,189.50. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6%

DRI traded down $1.15 on Tuesday, reaching $203.66. 76,368 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,347,920. The company's 50 day moving average is $214.01 and its 200-day moving average is $203.23. The company has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.50 and a twelve month high of $228.27. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.