Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,503 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded up $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.27. 1,225,748 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,206,003. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. Barclays lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.95.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.