Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Stock Holdings Decreased by Crux Wealth Advisors

Crux Wealth Advisors reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,538 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,662 shares during the period. Crux Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after acquiring an additional 7,902 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 124.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $188.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.89 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $199.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.87.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.59.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.