Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 544 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,000. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,282,000. Covenant Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 22,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,676,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,813,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of DRI opened at $153.28 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $150.69 and its 200-day moving average is $159.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.