Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 18,771 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 15.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,172 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,771 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.12% of Darden Restaurants worth $23,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 61,896 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,346,000 after acquiring an additional 3,908 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,364 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,158,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 163,436 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,318,000 after acquiring an additional 16,856 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $526,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.1% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $4.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $142.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,681,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,799. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.58.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.95.

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.