Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 770 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Darden Restaurants worth $22,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Union Savings Bank grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $158.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.07. The stock has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

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 25th. The stock was 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 owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. 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 approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.