Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,342 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,273 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Darden Restaurants worth $30,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,065 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 8.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,903 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $204.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.62. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $211.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

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.