Prospector Partners LLC Purchases 235 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Prospector Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,520 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th 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. Wambolt & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BTIG Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.67.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $147.37. The stock had a trading volume of 364,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,840. 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 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.42. The stock has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 61.43%.

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.