AGF Management Ltd. Has $2.40 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,845 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,472 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Union Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.1 %

DRI stock opened at $160.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.54 and a 200-day moving average of $153.72.

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 analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.