Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) SVP Susan Connelly Sells 2,635 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of DRI traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $214.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 265,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,822,690. The stock has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.76. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Midwest Trust Co bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $2,441,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 74.5% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 17,195 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,273,000 after buying an additional 7,342 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,275,000 after buying an additional 4,804 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,816,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 23,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,090,000 after acquiring an additional 3,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.