Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) CEO Ricardo Cardenas Sells 39,134 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $207.09 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $220.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.73 and a 200 day moving average of $203.18. The stock has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 62.43%.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation, suggesting analysts generally view Darden’s long-term outlook favorably. Darden Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: LongHorn Steakhouse reportedly delivered strong momentum, with sales jumping 9.5%, supporting Darden’s strategy of relying on higher-growth brands to drive expansion. Darden CEO Sold Shares as LongHorn Jumped and Olive Garden Lagged
• Neutral Sentiment: Darden is pursuing a leaner growth path, which could improve efficiency and returns but may also signal a more measured expansion strategy. Darden Tests a Leaner Growth Path
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares for approximately $8.2 million after exercising options, reducing his direct holdings by about 31%. While the option-related structure may make the sale less concerning, the sizable transaction can weigh on sentiment. CEO Form 4 Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares worth about $1.8 million, cutting his position nearly 50%, while SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares. Multiple senior-executive sales may reinforce near-term selling pressure. Darden Insider Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden, Darden’s largest brand, lagged LongHorn, highlighting uneven brand performance and potential concerns about traffic and growth at the company’s core business. Brand Performance Report

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,486,434,000 after buying an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $629,736,000 after acquiring an additional 991,230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $144,483,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,301,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,884,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $346,756,000 after acquiring an additional 563,237 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seventeen 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.