Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $28.06 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,785 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 54,693 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Darden Restaurants worth $28,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 34,638 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 6,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,171,926 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $167,843,000 after buying an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 54,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,777,000 after buying an additional 9,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DRI. Wedbush lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $149.25. 1,864,340 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,608. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $163.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

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.