Commerce Bank Buys 3,871 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Commerce Bank boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,049 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,871 shares during the period. Commerce Bank owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,601,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,976,000 after purchasing an additional 312,531 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,321,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,202,711 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $368,183,000 after purchasing an additional 234,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,148,000 after acquiring an additional 202,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.3 %

DRI stock traded down $1.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $137.10. 1,316,694 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,194,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $149.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.42. The company has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.24.

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.