Jennison Associates LLC Increases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 311.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 156,772 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.17% of Darden Restaurants worth $34,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $140.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.18 and a 200 day moving average of $158.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

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.