Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Newly Bought by Integrated Advisors Network LLC

Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,398,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,736,000 after buying an additional 991,230 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $248,083,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,010,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $198,033,000 after buying an additional 5,318 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 685,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $141,248,000 after buying an additional 89,157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,799,490. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,255 shares of company stock worth $12,589,319. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of DRI opened at $214.44 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $211.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 58.64%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.34%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company’s portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.