Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Position Reduced by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 543 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

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.