Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.5%, now owning 213,084 shares worth approximately $44.27 million.
• Several other hedge funds, including Federated Hermes Inc. and F M Investments LLC, have also significantly raised their positions in Darden Restaurants.
• Darden Restaurants recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50, up from $1.40, along with a new $1 billion stock buyback plan to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 213,084 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 18,481 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Darden Restaurants worth $44,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 25,925 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 6,152 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 409.6% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 9,028 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 19,439 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,627,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $810,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.2%

DRI opened at $202.16 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $213.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.65. The company has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $140.50 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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