Horizon Investments LLC Boosts Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,053 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.1% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $207.48 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.08 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.