MUFG Securities EMEA plc Grows Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 112.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,768 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,528 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.8%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $198.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $197.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.92.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.32.

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.