J.Safra Asset Management Corp Acquires 231 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 194.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 350 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $53,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Union Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DRI. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $144.00. 128,182 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,212,891. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.07. The firm has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.