Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,747 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,724 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,065 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 121.1% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,903 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.60. The stock had a trading volume of 986,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,740. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year 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 50 day moving average price of $195.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.97. The company has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.

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.