Haverford Trust Co Acquires New Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,174 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $196,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,601,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,976,000 after buying an additional 312,531 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $45,321,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,202,711 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $368,183,000 after purchasing an additional 234,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $2.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $142.70. 78,316 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,183,638. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.57. The stock has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 1.66 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.