Wambolt & Associates LLC Buys 351 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Wambolt & Associates LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 18.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,202,711 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $368,183,000 after purchasing an additional 234,410 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,148,000 after buying an additional 202,139 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 418,860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 20th. BTIG Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of DRI traded down $0.20 on Friday, reaching $145.22. The stock had a trading volume of 952,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

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

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 61.50%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.