Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,202,711 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $368,183,000 after purchasing an additional 234,410 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,572,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,867,000 after purchasing an additional 82,356 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 978,851 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $163,615,000 after purchasing an additional 16,454 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.36. 768,076 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,941. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.87. 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 one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95.

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.