Running Oak Capital LLC Has $9.16 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,760 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 7,785 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 1.8% of Running Oak Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Running Oak Capital LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,320,000 after purchasing an additional 34,478 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $147.86. 2,573,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,168,270. The business has a 50-day moving average of $163.86 and a 200-day moving average of $159.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 61.43%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. Barclays upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.