Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Decreased by Marco Investment Management LLC

Marco Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,675 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Melius began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.19.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE DRI opened at $203.17 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.10 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $214.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.48.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants 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.