ING Groep NV Purchases 5,896 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7,861.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,971 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,896 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $167,359,000 after purchasing an additional 418,860 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,602,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,516,000 after acquiring an additional 340,467 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,976,000 after acquiring an additional 312,531 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,321,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after acquiring an additional 202,139 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $148.71 on Thursday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $17.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $157.13 and a 200 day moving average of $160.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. BTIG Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.67.

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.