Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 59,250 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank boosted its stake in Darden by 211.4%, buying an additional 59,250 shares to hold 87,276 shares (about a 0.08% stake) valued at roughly $16.06 million.
• Darden slightly beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.95 vs. $2.94; revenue $3.35B vs. $3.33B) and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share (annualized $6.00, ~3.0% yield; ex-dividend Apr 10, payable May 1).
• The stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $226.24 average price target, is heavily institutionally owned (93.64%), and has a market cap of about $22.9 billion (P/E ~21.2).

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 211.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,276 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 59,250 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $849,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,211 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 239.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $157,490,000 after acquiring an additional 509,655 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,948,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,839,198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,824,996,000 after acquiring an additional 236,620 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.95 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $203.07 and a 200 day moving average of $194.06. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $195.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Darden Restaurants

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.