Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows 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 lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,620 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $530,121,000 after purchasing an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,282,666 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,466,000 after purchasing an additional 116,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,139,189.50. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE DRI traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,158,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,092,358. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.00 and a 200 day moving average of $202.91. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.10 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared 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 repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.