Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Sage Private Wealth Group LLC

Sage Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,781 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 258 shares during the quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $84,801,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $53,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $830,666,000 after acquiring an additional 247,542 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3,824.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 177,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,819,000 after purchasing an additional 172,701 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $748,215,000 after purchasing an additional 157,305 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $187.28 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $199.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.89 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.