Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $13.43 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5%, owning approximately 64,620 shares worth about $13.43 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Darden Restaurants recently raised its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a yield of 2.96%.
• The company authorized a $1 billion share buyback program, hinting that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,620 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $13,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $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 Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $201.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,223,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,403. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.10 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.