Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 88.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,303 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,173 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bowman & Co S.C. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of DRI opened at $178.18 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.89 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $195.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.36. The stock has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.82.

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.