Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $10.66 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,112 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $199.08. The company had a trading volume of 811,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,197. The firm's fifty day moving average is $196.69 and its 200-day moving average is $183.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,505 shares of company stock valued at $6,667,929 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.