Acadian Asset Management LLC Makes New $486,000 Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,215 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after buying an additional 8,619 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,901,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,204,000 after acquiring an additional 33,066 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $838,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $159.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.27 and a 200-day moving average of $153.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.