Raymond James & Associates Acquires 105,433 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,433 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 1.93% of Darden Restaurants worth $349,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $72,901,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,601,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,976,000 after acquiring an additional 312,531 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 311.1% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 207,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,628,000 after buying an additional 156,772 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 768,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,941. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $145.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.87. The company has a market capitalization of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

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.