California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 5,854 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 461,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,854 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.39% of Darden Restaurants worth $86,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $642,967,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,137,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $171,288,000 after purchasing an additional 121,015 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $208.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $195.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.97. The company has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

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.