Nuveen LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, buying 408,167 shares valued at approximately $84.8 million, giving them an ownership of about 0.35% in the company.
• Darden Restaurants has received positive analyst upgrades, with revised target prices from firms such as Truist Financial and Morgan Stanley, indicating a general bearish sentiment towards the stock.
• The company announced a $1 billion stock buyback program, implying that the board believes Darden's stock is undervalued, alongside a recent increase in their quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 408,167 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $84,801,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.35% of Darden Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,919,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after buying an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $71,883,000 after buying an additional 227,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $34,798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was 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. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $205.27 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $212.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.88. 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 cap of $23.93 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.50 and a 1 year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

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

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.

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