AGP Franklin LLC Buys Shares of 17,438 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,255,000. Darden Restaurants comprises 2.0% of AGP Franklin LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $303,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $1,720,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,491 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $810,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,264 shares of company stock valued at $9,058,583. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $200.03. The company had a trading volume of 925,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,606. The company's 50-day moving average is $196.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.10. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants 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.