Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Takes $252,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,215 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $208.49 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $138.21 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $214.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.