Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $2.68 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,310 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 19,160 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,976,000 after acquiring an additional 312,531 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $328,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,907.8% in the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 31,643 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,199,000 after purchasing an additional 30,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $154.81. 89,151 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,131,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.12. The company has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 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.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.