California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 461,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,854 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.39% of Darden Restaurants worth $86,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,133,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of DRI traded down $5.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $194.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,359,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,205. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.68. The stock has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.

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.