Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 883,228 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 35,866 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.73% of Darden Restaurants worth $137,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $33,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 43.3% in the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 63.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.53% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $150.06 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.57. The company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.20 and a twelve month high of $173.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 47.22% and a net margin of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 7th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $172.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Monday, June 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 74,741 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.90, for a total value of $12,474,272.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 157,957 shares in the company, valued at $26,363,023.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 74,741 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.90, for a total transaction of $12,474,272.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 157,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,363,023.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 31,818 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.29, for a total transaction of $5,100,107.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 199,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,034,918.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,775 shares of company stock worth $43,532,251 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, through 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 brands.