Aberdeen Group plc Has $17.72 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $17,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:DRI opened at $186.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $157.01 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $200.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,176,370.40. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.