Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,390 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,389 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.15% of Darden Restaurants worth $28,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,976,000 after purchasing an additional 312,531 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $328,000. Duality Advisers LP grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,907.8% in the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 31,643 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,199,000 after buying an additional 30,067 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $625,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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 Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $156.52 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.10. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.