ZRC Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of DRI opened at $145.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.92. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.50%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants 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.