LMG Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

LMG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,818 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,832,000 after buying an additional 2,046 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,070 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,508,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $395,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of DRI stock traded down $1.12 on Thursday, hitting $207.13. 1,269,040 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,342,977. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $214.00 and a 200 day moving average of $201.05. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.21 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% 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 valued at $9,609,494. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

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.