22,872 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Purchased by SEB Asset Management AB

Key Points

• SEB Asset Management AB opened a new position in Darden Restaurants, buying 22,872 shares valued at about $4.48 million in the first quarter.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share from $1.50, implying an annualized yield of about 3.3%.

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,484,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $193.91 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $220.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $202.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.93. 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 $22.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DRI. Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This represents a 70.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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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