Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,209 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $84,801,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $53,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3,824.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 177,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,819,000 after purchasing an additional 172,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $748,215,000 after purchasing an additional 157,305 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $1,438,707. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $188.16 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.89 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $199.61 and a 200 day moving average of $204.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

About Darden Restaurants

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.