MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Cuts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,177 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,996 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $208.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.82. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $199.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.48. The firm has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities 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 MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.

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