Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 26.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,407 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,217 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $642,967,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $48,919,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 227,977 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.69.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $3.38 on Wednesday, hitting $217.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,711,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,161. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.98. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

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.