Norden Group LLC Grows Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Norden Group LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1,244.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,457 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake 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 worth $323,392,000 after purchasing an additional 134,098 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 169,642 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,399,697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $200,465,000 after purchasing an additional 57,192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $145.42 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.24.

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.