Cullen Investment Group LTD. Buys Shares of 27,807 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 27,807 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,569,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,320,000 after acquiring an additional 34,478 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $154.06. 1,126,646 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,528. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors 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.