11,304 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased 11,304 Darden Restaurants shares worth approximately $2.33 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s stock.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, ahead of the $3.63 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, representing a 2.9% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $228.88, while company insiders sold approximately $14.6 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,304 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $17,438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,151,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,964,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $225.31 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average is $206.65 and its 200-day moving average is $203.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $867,028.05. This trade represents a 34.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last ninety days. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.

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