1832 Asset Management L.P. Makes New $53.76 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. has acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, purchasing 258,760 shares valued at approximately $53.76 million, representing about 0.22% of the company.
• Darden Restaurants recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $1.50 per share, up from $1.40, which translates to an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a dividend yield of 2.9%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Darden Restaurants, with Evercore ISI increasing it from $230.00 to $250.00, indicating a strong outlook for the stock.

1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of 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 firm acquired 258,760 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $53,760,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.22% of Darden Restaurants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DRI. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 143,947 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,873,000 after buying an additional 35,894 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,449 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,305 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $540,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded down $3.1920 on Monday, hitting $205.3880. 995,227 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,008,031. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $210.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.57. The firm has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $153.98 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total value of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,139,189.50. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on DRI. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

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.