Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Raises Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,260 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $1,848,000. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $3,129,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $399,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,101.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 29,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,800,000 after acquiring an additional 26,785 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $149.25 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $163.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.88. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.