Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Acquires 6,151 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 134,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,151 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $22,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $3.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $145.84. 611,210 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,209,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. TD Cowen lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 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 given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.