Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 15,825 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Shell Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 59.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 15,825 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $480,954.00. Following 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $211.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.11.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 62.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.78.

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.