Copperwynd Financial LLC Acquires 505 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,052 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after buying an additional 105,433 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th 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. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares during the period. 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 valued at $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,386 shares of company stock valued at $11,446,091 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7 %

DRI stock opened at $166.71 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $153.39 and its 200 day moving average is $153.22. The stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.25.

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.