Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Position Raised by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 103,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,526 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.09% of Darden Restaurants worth $17,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,202,000. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,986,000 after buying an additional 8,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 968,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $159,047,000 after buying an additional 65,223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $141.26. The company had a trading volume of 567,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,083. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, July 19th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.95.

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.