Cullen Investment Group LTD. Purchases Shares of 27,807 Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 27,807 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,569,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,320,000 after purchasing an additional 34,478 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $154.06. 171,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,365. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.51. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

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.