GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 715 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.2% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,320,000 after acquiring an additional 34,478 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. 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 research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

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 dated 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 approximately $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $3,313,120 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $156.10 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $164.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.53.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.