936 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Purchased by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 936 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $191.40 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $155.18 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Profile

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.