Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,330 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 11,142 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Darden Restaurants worth $22,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $642,967,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $48,919,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $71,883,000 after acquiring an additional 227,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $215.87. 3,490,575 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,345,146. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $210.24 and a 200-day moving average of $197.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,463 shares of company stock valued at $4,997,442. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.