Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1,101.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 26,785 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 324.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.3 %

DRI opened at $156.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $3,313,120 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.