Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 26.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,407 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,217 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $221.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.27.

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.