Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 77,542 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 53.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 77,542 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $11,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $150,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,090 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 776,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $103,176,000 after purchasing an additional 113,548 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $152.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

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.