Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 504 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st 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 Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 136.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 221 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $171.44 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.16. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.40 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.31%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants 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.