Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 277,495 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 21,455 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $54,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,490. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 59,768 shares of company stock valued at $12,472,786 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5%

DRI stock opened at $203.97 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $220.65. The firm has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $203.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Key Headlines Impacting Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $228.88. Deutsche Bank, Guggenheim, Stephens and Bank of America recently raised their price targets, signaling continued confidence in Darden’s longer-term growth prospects. Darden Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Darden’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted earnings of $3.66 per share, ahead of the $3.63 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also reaffirmed fiscal 2027 earnings guidance of $11.10 to $11.35 per share. Darden Results Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Darden increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 from $1.50, bringing the annualized payout to $6.48 and the yield to approximately 3.1%. The higher shareholder return may support the stock’s income appeal. Darden Dividend Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: LongHorn Steakhouse reportedly posted 9.5% sales growth, but Olive Garden lagged, underscoring uneven performance across Darden’s brands. This leaves investors assessing whether higher-growth concepts can offset softness at the company’s largest chain. Darden Brand Performance
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares for approximately $8.2 million after exercising options, reducing his direct holdings by about 31%. CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares worth about $1.8 million, cutting his direct stake nearly in half, while SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares. The cluster of executive sales is likely weighing on near-term sentiment, although the CEO’s transaction was tied to an option exercise. Darden Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Potential beef-cost inflation and cautious consumer spending remain risks to restaurant margins and traffic, particularly if price increases pressure demand at Olive Garden and other value-oriented concepts. Darden CFO Sale and Beef Inflation

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.