Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 5,863 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 5,863 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Union Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $155.61. 1,195,961 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,231,214. The company has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.62. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

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.