Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,405 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 610 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 571.4% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $31,000. Selective Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 618.2% during the second quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Heritage Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Richard L. Renninger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.99, for a total value of $739,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,310,240.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $311,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,340. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard L. Renninger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.99, for a total transaction of $739,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,310,240.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,975 shares of company stock valued at $3,439,234 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $147.38 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.96 and a fifty-two week high of $152.08. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The restaurant operator reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 42.51%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 9th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.91.

About Darden Restaurants

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.