Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires 6,258 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 27.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,258 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,386 shares of company stock worth $11,446,091. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $168.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $152.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Argus dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

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.