Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.9% in the first quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,769 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.8% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 37,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,114,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the first quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 15,830 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,324,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 399.4% in the first quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,638 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Circle Investors acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $11,390,000. Institutional investors own 95.49% of the company’s stock.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) opened at 84.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.16 and a 52-week high of $95.22.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 6.68%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post $4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 66.14%.
DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, June 19th. Maxim Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $83.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.78.
In related news, insider Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 93,125 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total value of $8,528,387.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 165,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,116,377.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Darden Restaurants Company Profile
Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company. The Company owned and operated 1,536 restaurants through its subsidiaries in the United States and Canada, as of May 29, 2016. The Company’s segments include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining (which includes The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille (Eddie V’s)) and Other Business (which includes Yard House, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, consumer-packaged goods and franchise revenues).
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