Decatur Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Decatur Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 18,063 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,753,000. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 1.9% of Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $84,801,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,919,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $830,666,000 after buying an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,883,000 after buying an additional 227,977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:DRI opened at $205.18 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $211.87 and a 200 day moving average of $204.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.91 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.19.

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.