Brookstone Capital Management Acquires 537 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 2,188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,874 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’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 approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DRI. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Argus dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $151.32 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.63 and its 200 day moving average is $159.35. The company has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

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.