Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Purchased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 107.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,232 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.32.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $204.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $197.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.54. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.