First Financial Bank Trust Division Grows Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,902 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 12.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 124.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $212.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.18 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $207.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.92.

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.