SG Americas Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,226,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 207.5% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 3,202 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $233,000. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the first quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,161,481 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $180,215,000 after buying an additional 71,462 shares during the last quarter. 94.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $183.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 14th. TD Cowen reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.22.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE DRI opened at $149.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.20 and a 12 month high of $173.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.58.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 47.22% and a net margin of 9.36%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 7th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 5,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.43, for a total transaction of $855,740.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,060 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,415.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 6,905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.39, for a total value of $1,107,492.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,935.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 5,301 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.43, for a total transaction of $855,740.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,785,415.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,775 shares of company stock valued at $43,532,251 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, through 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 brands.