Saxon Interests Inc. Has $661,000 Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,954 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,968,301 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $323,392,000 after acquiring an additional 134,098 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,148,000 after acquiring an additional 202,139 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,399,697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $200,465,000 after acquiring an additional 57,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Argus dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $1.56 on Tuesday, reaching $146.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,059,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,009. The company has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.11.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.50%.

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.