Junto Capital Management LP Invests $48.92 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 262,033 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $48,919,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $24,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Finally, QV Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of DRI opened at $198.15 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. 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 note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 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.