Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Acquired by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 288,192 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,258 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $62,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 124.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $186.90 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $200.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.32. The company has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.01 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575 in the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants 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.