GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 28.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 917 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,968,301 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $323,392,000 after purchasing an additional 134,098 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,467,716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $210,206,000 after purchasing an additional 75,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.76.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $153.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $150.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.