Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $18.60 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,188 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $18,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $772,635,000 after purchasing an additional 26,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $459,216,000 after buying an additional 17,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $386,133,000 after acquiring an additional 44,464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of DRI stock traded down $3.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $197.12. 775,349 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,033,882. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $182.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $201.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.