Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $546,393.60 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of DRI stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $214.22. 265,459 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,822,690. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.76. The company has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 75.4% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 28,605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.0% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.8% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,198,000 after buying an additional 3,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,178 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.00.

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.