Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stake Increased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 129.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 312,531 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.46% of Darden Restaurants worth $90,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,907.8% during the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 31,643 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,199,000 after purchasing an additional 30,067 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $625,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,703 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $156.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,550,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,822. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.68 and a 200-day moving average of $159.10. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors 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 3.35%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.