Innealta Capital LLC Makes New $31,000 Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Union Savings Bank lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BTIG Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $158.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $146.82 and a 200-day moving average of $154.21. 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 one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $1.29 dividend. 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 presently 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.