Avior Wealth Management LLC Buys 89 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 626 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,090 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 776,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $103,176,000 after acquiring an additional 113,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $152.50 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $165.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

About Darden Restaurants

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.