Prospector Partners LLC Buys 310 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Prospector Partners LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,685 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $9,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $349,268,000 after acquiring an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th 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. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,572,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,867,000 after purchasing an additional 82,356 shares in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after buying an additional 132,643 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $150.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.34. 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 company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following 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 hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.