Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Increases Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 555.3% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $178.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9%

DRI stock opened at $222.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $226.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 50.68%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.