Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires Shares of 7,163 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,163 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 82.4% during the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 6,791 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,067 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.8% during the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.2% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 66,049 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871 shares in the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 499.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 13,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded down $2.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $138.02. 2,386,966 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,203,748. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.24.

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.