Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Increases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3,730.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,698 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants comprises approximately 0.7% of Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE DRI opened at $192.28 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

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.