Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $20.12 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,333 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $20,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 446.6% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 7,182 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after buying an additional 5,868 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after purchasing an additional 204,832 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 23.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 19.3% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 30,243 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,576,000 after purchasing an additional 4,884 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS 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 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $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 equities analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Argus cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.28.

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.