KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires New Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 40,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $7,561,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 514,392 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $96,031,000 after acquiring an additional 8,786 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 11,136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 7,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $208.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $210.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.21.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.