180 Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

180 Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 538 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $184.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $197.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.89 and a 1 year high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 64.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $1,438,707. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.15.

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.