Maverick Capital Ltd. Has $10.86 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 149.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,260 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,337 shares during the quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,132,006. This represents a 32.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $207.02 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.91. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.98 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

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.