Tredje AP fonden Reduces Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Tredje AP fonden lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,756 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,954 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10,491.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 127,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,233,000 after purchasing an additional 125,900 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,905 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $172.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.39. The company has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $159.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.18.

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.