Jennison Associates LLC Has $8.28 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $8,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,320,000 after acquiring an additional 34,478 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $156.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.55 and a 200 day moving average of $159.23. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

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 value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, 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 available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 valued at $3,313,120 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.