Edgestream Partners L.P. Grows Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE DRI traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $141.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 379,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,217. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BTIG Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95.

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.