SFE Investment Counsel Boosts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SFE Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,945 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.1% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.4%

DRI opened at $208.49 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $214.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.21 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total value of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,139,189.50. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.