Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1,101.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,785 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 324.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $3,313,120 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $156.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

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.