Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 289,876 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 71.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.58% of Darden Restaurants worth $105,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 8,619 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,901,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% in 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 during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $838,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $159.14 on Thursday. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.