Royal Bank of Canada Has $54.40 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,495 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 21,455 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.24% of Darden Restaurants worth $54,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $144,483,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,301,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,884,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $346,756,000 after purchasing an additional 563,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 239.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,490,000 after buying an additional 509,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $203.97 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $220.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.19. The company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 62.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $2,047,665.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,768 shares of company stock worth $12,472,786. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Darden Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $228.88. Deutsche Bank, Guggenheim, Stephens and Bank of America recently raised their price targets, signaling continued confidence in Darden’s longer-term growth prospects. Darden Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Darden’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted earnings of $3.66 per share, ahead of the $3.63 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also reaffirmed fiscal 2027 earnings guidance of $11.10 to $11.35 per share. Darden Results Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Darden increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 from $1.50, bringing the annualized payout to $6.48 and the yield to approximately 3.1%. The higher shareholder return may support the stock’s income appeal. Darden Dividend Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: LongHorn Steakhouse reportedly posted 9.5% sales growth, but Olive Garden lagged, underscoring uneven performance across Darden’s brands. This leaves investors assessing whether higher-growth concepts can offset softness at the company’s largest chain. Darden Brand Performance
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares for approximately $8.2 million after exercising options, reducing his direct holdings by about 31%. CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares worth about $1.8 million, cutting his direct stake nearly in half, while SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares. The cluster of executive sales is likely weighing on near-term sentiment, although the CEO’s transaction was tied to an option exercise. Darden Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Potential beef-cost inflation and cautious consumer spending remain risks to restaurant margins and traffic, particularly if price increases pressure demand at Olive Garden and other value-oriented concepts. Darden CFO Sale and Beef Inflation

Darden Restaurants 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.