By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,048,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
Shares of DRI opened at $190.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $201.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.22.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.
Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants
In related news, 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 value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.
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.
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