Balentine LLC Purchases Shares of 1,729 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Balentine LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,729 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.67.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $148.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $157.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.42.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’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 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 a total of 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.