Capital Insight Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Capital Insight Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,349 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $151.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $150.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.36. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. BTIG Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.