BayBridge Capital Group LLC Takes $385,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

BayBridge Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,450 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,202,000. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 968,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $159,047,000 after purchasing an additional 65,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. BTIG Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.67.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7 %

DRI stock traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $147.66. 920,369 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,554. The stock has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $157.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.