Vista Investment Partners II LLC Takes $1.70 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,195 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,703,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 110,330 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,632,000 after acquiring an additional 11,142 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at $1,570,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of DRI stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $215.87. 3,490,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,570. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $228.27. 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's 50-day moving average price is $210.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the business's 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 now directly owns 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,463 shares of company stock valued at $4,997,442. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.