Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $11.18 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 53.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 77,542 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,911,012,000 after buying an additional 362,658 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,380,814,000 after buying an additional 455,588 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $369,070,000 after buying an additional 52,864 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,561,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $396,532,000 after buying an additional 54,085 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $328,006,000 after buying an additional 200,342 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on DRI shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $152.49 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm 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 company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.