Silvant Capital Management LLC Has $3.73 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Silvant Capital Management sharply increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2,662.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 20,250 shares valued at about $3.73 million.
• Darden reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 versus $2.94 expected and revenue of $3.35 billion, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, and analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $227.16.

Silvant Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2,662.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,250 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 19,517 shares during the quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $209.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $198.79 and a 200-day moving average of $198.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.16.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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