Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,724 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,311 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,221. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $204.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

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.