Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $167,359,000 after acquiring an additional 418,860 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,602,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $229,516,000 after buying an additional 340,467 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $45,321,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after buying an additional 202,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,006,000 after buying an additional 200,342 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $154.55 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.