Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,452 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $44,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,644.80. This trade represents a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on DRI. Weiss Ratings raised Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.78.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:DRI opened at $213.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.86.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.89%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.