Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Position Reduced by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,068 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 558 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 119.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $142.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,185,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,593. The firm has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.29. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.56. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants 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.