Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,602 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DRI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.78.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. This represents a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $197.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.89%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.