Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Darden by 63.8% to 83,913 shares (about $16.84 million), and institutional investors now own roughly 93.64% of the company's stock.
• Darden slightly beat quarterly expectations with $2.95 EPS vs. $2.94 consensus and reported revenue of $3.35 billion (up 5.9% year-over-year), with a net margin of 8.66% and ROE of 53.54%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 ($6.00 annual, a 3.0% yield, ex-dividend April 10, payable May 1), and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $226.24 after several recent upgrades.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 63.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,913 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 32,678 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,839,198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,824,996,000 after acquiring an additional 236,620 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,071,746,000 after purchasing an additional 100,270 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $849,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,211 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 45.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $417,935,000 after purchasing an additional 596,863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $201.51 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The business's fifty day moving average price is $207.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Mizuho raised Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.24.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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