Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,586 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 23,478 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of DRI stock traded up $1.84 on Tuesday, reaching $209.60. 986,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,274,931. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $211.00. The company has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.61 and a 200-day moving average of $179.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.