Everstar Asset Management LLC Invests $973,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Everstar Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,286 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $973,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Stephens increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $196.15 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $198.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.08. The stock has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 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, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.