1,215 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Purchased by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,215 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graypoint LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. BIP Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. LMG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,049,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,818 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.8%

DRI traded up $1.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $204.42. 867,148 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,927. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business's 50 day moving average is $214.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.19. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.10 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued 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 2.94%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

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.