Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 13,802 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 13,802 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.22% of Darden Restaurants worth $46,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants 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.

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