Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 2,046 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,818 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 2,046 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $208.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,099,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,044. The business's 50-day moving average price is $214.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.75. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.21 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during 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%. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.