Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 194,603 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 5,134 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Darden Restaurants worth $36,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,065 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 121.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,903 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Darden Restaurants Price Performance
NYSE:DRI traded up $1.84 on Tuesday, hitting $209.60. The company had a trading volume of 986,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,740. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.97.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.
Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Darden Restaurants
Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants
In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.
About Darden Restaurants
(
Free Report)
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.
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