Haverford Trust Co Acquires New Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Haverford Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,173 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $700,210,000 after acquiring an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $195,422,000 after purchasing an additional 102,888 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $207.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $210.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $193.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. 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 firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,729. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.