Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $6.81 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 36,453 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $6,810,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $194.40. 1,109,051 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,285,848. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $195.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.14. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped 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. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.38.

About Darden Restaurants

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.