Integrated Advisors Network LLC Makes New $1.40 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,398,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DRI. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, September 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE DRI opened at $214.44 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $211.33 and a 200-day moving average of $205.33. The firm has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.05. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 60,255 shares of company stock valued at $12,589,319. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company’s portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.