California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 312,531 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 129.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 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 quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.46% of Darden Restaurants worth $90,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

DRI opened at $156.61 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $164.79 and its 200-day moving average is $159.12. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

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.