Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC Purchases Shares of 24,627 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,627 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,000. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 0.7% of Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,404,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,319,000 after purchasing an additional 5,830 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,587,939,000 after purchasing an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,007,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 313.9% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,598 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,502,000 after purchasing an additional 10,313 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.32, for a total value of $226,795.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,197,257.28. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $225.31 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $206.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.68.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.88.

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.