Spire Wealth Management Has $5.76 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 33.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,969 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 55.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $167,359,000 after acquiring an additional 418,860 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,602,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,516,000 after buying an additional 340,467 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,976,000 after buying an additional 312,531 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,321,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI traded down $1.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $147.42. 1,545,205 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,609. The company has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

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.