137,346 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 137,346 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $26,542,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,148 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 11,115 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,148,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.7% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the third quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 5,725 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,193,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $1,846,637.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. This trade represents a 32.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, September 11th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $222.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $210.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.05. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 58.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.34%.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company’s portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.