Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,226 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,737 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $13,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $159.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $160.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.56. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.13.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,206 shares of company stock valued at $12,460,313. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants 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.