Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $7.88 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.2%, owning 37,994 shares valued at approximately $7.88 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Darden Restaurants recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.50 per share, up from $1.40, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a yield of 2.9%.
• The company reported a 10.6% year-over-year revenue growth for the last quarter, with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.98, beating analysts' expectations.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,994 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $4.0430 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.4530. The company's stock had a trading volume of 256,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,325,634. The stock has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $211.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.