Wellington Management Group LLP Has $800.16 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 43.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,884,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,964,922 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $800,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,128,000 after purchasing an additional 322,079 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $2,015,109,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $771,020,000 after buying an additional 68,245 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,736,000 after acquiring an additional 991,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $537,001,000 after acquiring an additional 251,246 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $215.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.75. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.50.

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.