Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $13.67 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 62,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 372 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $13,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock worth $1,438,707. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $188.16 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.89 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.90. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate 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 was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

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.