Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Decreased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 8,828 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.16% of Darden Restaurants worth $35,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,556,000 after acquiring an additional 182,275 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 7,228 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $195,422,000 after acquiring an additional 102,888 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $200.72 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $190.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $201.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

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.