KBC Group NV Purchases 3,245 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 24.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,245 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $348,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $302,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,384 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:DRI traded up $0.94 on Friday, reaching $220.27. 604,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,349,187. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $212.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.46.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share 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 firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.