Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,276 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 349 shares during the quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 418,860 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,601,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 27.0% in the third 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 last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 312,531 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,321,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 17th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.67.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.04 on Thursday, reaching $147.67. 311,487 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,168,210. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $157.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.42. The company has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

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

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

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.