6,789 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Purchased by JSF Financial LLC

JSF Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 6,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,148 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.8% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.7% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,299 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total transaction of $463,386.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,028.05. The trade was a 34.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Williamson sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. This represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 60,255 shares of company stock valued at $12,589,319 in the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $217.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $211.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.05. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.34%.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company’s portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.