Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $2,802,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,848 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $194.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $188.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $201.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.