Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 14,538 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,538 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,389,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 324.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $3,313,120 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $156.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 886,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,570. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $164.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.10.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Darden Restaurants

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.