Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $247,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,506 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $150,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,090 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 776,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $103,176,000 after acquiring an additional 113,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $152.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 960,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,765. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.65. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on 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 decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants 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.