Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,026 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 810 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $405,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research 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 price target of $206.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $224.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $225.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.83.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.