NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 4,846 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 64,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,846 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $13,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 8.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.3% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.9% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,545 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,839 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $209.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, August 24th. Argus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total transaction of $463,386.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,028.05. This trade represents a 34.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.