State of Michigan Retirement System Lowers Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,712 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position 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 during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.1 %

DRI stock opened at $146.77 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.24.

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.