Oakworth Capital Inc. Raises Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,090 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 17.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 776,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $103,176,000 after acquiring an additional 113,548 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $152.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $165.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.62.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were 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 owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim boosted 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 price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer decreased 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Five 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

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.