First Business Financial Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,061 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 916 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,901,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,601,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 311.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 207,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,628,000 after buying an additional 156,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after buying an additional 105,433 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the 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 approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on DRI. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $158.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 155,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,214,836. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

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.