Strs Ohio Has $18.89 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Strs Ohio lessened its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.10% of Darden Restaurants worth $18,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 980.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded down $1.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $152.97. 1,092,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,155,436. The stock has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.11 and a 200 day moving average of $158.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.85.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.