2,303 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Purchased by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc., purchasing 2,303 shares valued at approximately $478,000 in the first quarter.
• Darden Restaurants reported a 10.6% increase in revenue year-over-year with earnings per share of $2.98, slightly exceeding analysts' estimates.
• The company's Board of Directors initiated a $1.00 billion stock buyback plan, a sign of confidence in its share value and a potential increase in shareholder returns.

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,303 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Twelve equities research 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.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5%

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.95 during trading on Monday, reaching $203.53. 134,127 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,090. The company's 50-day moving average is $214.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.32. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.10 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, 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 value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% 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 worth $9,609,494 over the last three months. 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.