Winthrop Partners WNY LLC Makes New $1.79 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Winthrop Partners WNY LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,757 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,795,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $2,404,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,319,000 after buying an additional 5,830 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,675,000 after buying an additional 1,171,890 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 177.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after buying an additional 8,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $6,743,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer reaffirmed an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $235, suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth in Darden’s upcoming quarterly report, and Zacks said the company appears positioned for a potential earnings beat, which can support the stock ahead of results. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch noted Darden’s shares rose in Thursday trading, but the stock still lagged the broader market, indicating only modest momentum rather than a clear catalyst-driven move. MarketWatch
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent analyst and preview articles highlight that investors are awaiting Darden’s fiscal Q4 results and are focused on operating metrics beyond revenue and EPS, but these pieces are more about positioning than a new fundamental development. The Globe and Mail
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an Equal Weight rating with a $210 target, implying limited downside/upside from current levels and reflecting a more cautious stance than bullish peers. Tickerreport.com

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.04.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $213.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.