Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes $18.66 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 99,971 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $18,664,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned 0.09% of Darden Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $24,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,816 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,907,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,477 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,756,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $305,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $313,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 418,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,301,338. The business has a fifty day moving average of $199.48 and a 200-day moving average of $188.48. The company has a market cap of $24.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.82. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.