Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Boosted by Peterson Wealth Services

Peterson Wealth Services increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,911,012,000 after acquiring an additional 362,658 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,380,814,000 after buying an additional 455,588 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $369,070,000 after buying an additional 52,864 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,561,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $396,532,000 after buying an additional 54,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,006,000 after buying an additional 200,342 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $153.17. 116,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,141,277. The firm has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.62.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

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.