UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 1,622 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,366 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,967,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,556,000 after purchasing an additional 182,275 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 922,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $171,288,000 after purchasing an additional 121,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $195,422,000 after purchasing an additional 102,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $204.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $194.62 and its 200 day moving average is $178.47. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

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.