Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Holdings Decreased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,740 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,233 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned approximately 0.21% of Darden Restaurants worth $45,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAM Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, apricus wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $196.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $189.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.94.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 in the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.78.

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.