8,469 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Acquired by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired 8,469 shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.75 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s stock.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $1.50 to $1.62 per share, producing a 2.9% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $228.88; however, company insiders sold 70,185 shares worth approximately $14.6 million over the past 90 days.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,469 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,745,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,015,109,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $629,736,000 after purchasing an additional 991,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $204,099,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,483,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $221.81 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $229.76. The company has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,134,271.04. This trade represents a 7.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.88.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report).

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source