Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 2,964,922 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 43.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,884,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,964,922 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 3.40% of Darden Restaurants worth $800,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,853,000. Glenview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $316,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $3,313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of DRI opened at $215.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $229.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Argus increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,490. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

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.