National Pension Service Decreases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• National Pension Service sharply reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, cutting holdings by 95.8% in the fourth quarter and selling 187,397 shares, leaving it with 8,302 shares worth about $1.53 million.
• Several other major institutional investors increased or maintained large positions in DRI, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 93.64% of the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus on Darden Restaurants with a $226.32 average price target, while the company also reported quarterly earnings and revenue slightly ahead of expectations.

National Pension Service trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 95.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 187,397 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,839,198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,824,996,000 after buying an additional 236,620 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after buying an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $849,726,000 after buying an additional 1,102,211 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $507,675,000 after buying an additional 1,171,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,904,022 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $362,848,000 after buying an additional 19,819 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DRI. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.32.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $201.98 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $197.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.92.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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