Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Unloaded Rep. Josh Gottheimer

Key Points

• Rep. Josh Gottheimer disclosed selling Darden Restaurants shares worth between $15,001 and $50,000 on April 9, according to a filing released May 19.
• Darden recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 versus $2.94 expected and revenue of $3.35 billion, while raising confidence in full-year earnings of 10.61 EPS.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.0%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $226.24.

Representative Josh Gottheimer (Democratic-New Jersey) recently sold shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. NYSE: DRI. In a filing disclosed on May 19th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Darden Restaurants stock on April 9th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "MORGAN STANLEY - ACTIVE ASSET ACCOUNT # 3" account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of 3M NYSE: MMM on 4/28/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD on 4/27/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of ServiceNow NYSE: NOW on 4/24/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of International Business Machines NYSE: IBM on 4/24/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD on 4/23/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group NYSE: GS on 4/16/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Freeport-McMoRan NYSE: FCX on 4/15/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of HDFC Bank NYSE: HDB on 4/13/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Intapp NASDAQ: INTA on 4/13/2026.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Tractor Supply NASDAQ: TSCO on 4/9/2026.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:DRI opened at $197.29 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $197.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after buying an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $629,736,000 after acquiring an additional 991,230 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $144,483,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $113,301,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.24.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Gottheimer is also running for election for Governor of New Jersey. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 10, 2025. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.