2,428 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Acquired by Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,428 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $369,070,000 after buying an additional 52,864 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,006,000 after buying an additional 200,342 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,968,301 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $323,392,000 after buying an additional 134,098 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after buying an additional 202,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,639,513 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,811,000 after buying an additional 9,232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $156.10. 886,615 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,153,157. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $3,313,120 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

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.