Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $67,001,000 after acquiring an additional 13,074 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $286,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 164,342 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,681,000 after acquiring an additional 32,273 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock worth $9,609,494. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $209.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.21 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $213.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.81.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.60.

About Darden Restaurants

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.