New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 9,389 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 173,390 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,389 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $28,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 324.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1 %

DRI opened at $156.52 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.10.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.