CX Institutional owns $1.30 million worth of shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

CX Institutional reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company’s most recent filing with the SEC on Form 13F. The company owned 8,564 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,296,000, according to the most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at around $17,202,000. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,973,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the same period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after acquiring an additional 8,619 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 968,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $159,047,000 after acquiring an additional 65,223 shares during the period. 93.64% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants recorded a decline of 1.0%

NYSE:DRI traded $1.39 lower on Friday, reaching $143.10. 954,324 shares traded hands, compared to an average volume of 1,229,592. The stock has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. 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 company’s 50-day average price is $146.52 and its 200-day average price is $155.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly results on Thursday, June 20. The restaurant operator reported earnings per share of $2.65 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants posted a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue grew 8.3% compared to the year-ago quarter. During the same period last year, the company posted earnings per share of $2.58. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post earnings per share of $9.48 for the current year.

Darden Restaurants cuts dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will receive a dividend of $1.29 per share, with the ex-dividend date being Wednesday, July 10th. This represents an annualized dividend of $5.16 and a yield of 3.61%. Darden Restaurants’ dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Changes in analyst ratings

Several brokerage firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded their rating on shares of Darden Restaurants from “hold” to “underperform” and decreased their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11. BTIG Research upgraded their rating on shares of Darden Restaurants from “neutral” to “buy” and set the price target for the stock from $175.00 in a report on Friday, May 17. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set the price target for the stock from $176.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 28. TD Cowen downgraded their rating on Darden Restaurants from a “buy” to a “hold” and decreased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One research analyst rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, and sixteen have given a buy rating. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “moderate buy” and an average price target of $170.95.

Read our latest report on Darden Restaurants

Insiders place their bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible from the SEC website. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Profile

(Free report)

Darden Restaurants, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates its businesses under the brand names 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.