Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 26th, 2023

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) by 62.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,123 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 30,296 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 159.0% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 260 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $157.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.23.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $345,495.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $826,150. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 2,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.77, for a total transaction of $419,945.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $965,829.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $345,495.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $826,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,611 shares of company stock valued at $14,887,160. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $161.03 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.96 and a 1 year high of $163.42. The firm has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.83.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.10. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 45.62% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 6th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.19%.

About Darden Restaurants

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.