Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Makes New $2.66 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired 12,822 shares of Darden Restaurants, valued at approximately $2,664,000, making it the 21st largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Wall Street analysts have increased Darden's price targets, with estimates reaching as high as $253.00 from Bank of America, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Darden recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, increasing from the previous dividend of $1.40, with an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,822 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,000. Darden Restaurants accounts for about 1.0% of Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,053 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.1% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $252.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 in the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $208.00. 783,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 846,046. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $153.98 and a one year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.