Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 298.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,708 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,463 shares of company stock worth $4,997,442 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $219.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.60.

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.