51,338 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Bought by PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 51,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $9,447,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $198.11 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.88.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.