Aurora Investment Counsel Acquires Shares of 12,266 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,856,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,986,000 after acquiring an additional 8,619 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 33,066 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $838,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 499.8% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 13,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $164.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at $1,719. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,386 shares of company stock worth $11,780,551. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.