J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,761 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 26,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,365,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 7,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

DRI stock opened at $156.61 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $164.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.12. The company has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 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 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.