Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $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 about $27,000. Union Savings Bank grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $156.74 on Wednesday. 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 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.