Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $49.01 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holding in Darden Restaurants by 4.2% in Q4 and now owns 266,342 shares worth approximately $49.01 million (about 0.23% of the company).
• Darden announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 (annualized $6.00), with an ex-dividend date of April 10 and a yield of roughly 3.0%.
• The company slightly beat recent quarterly estimates with $2.95 EPS (vs. $2.94 consensus) and $3.35B revenue, and Wall Street shows a consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $226.24.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 266,342 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 11,775 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Darden Restaurants worth $49,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.2% during the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Embree Financial Group boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.5% during the third quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 1,681 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 13,425 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $204.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.24.

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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