AGP Franklin LLC Has $1.74 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

AGP Franklin LLC trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 32.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,858 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,279 shares during the period. AGP Franklin LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.04.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $211.67 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $224.94. The stock has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $200.48 and its 200-day moving average is $200.14.

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.