Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,627 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 478 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $184.95 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.90 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $200.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.59.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.