Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $46.48 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 248,254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,802 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $46,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.6%

DRI opened at $196.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $200.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.