AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 7,212 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK Plc reduced its Darden Restaurants stake by 4.2% in the first quarter, selling 7,212 shares and leaving it with 165,217 shares valued at about $32.3 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on Darden, with Oppenheimer reaffirming an Outperform rating and raising its price target to $235; Bank of America and Citigroup also recently lifted their targets.
• Darden recently beat quarterly expectations, posting EPS of $2.95 on revenue of $3.35 billion, while the stock opened at $213.58 and sits below its 52-week high of $228.27.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 7,212 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned about 0.14% of Darden Restaurants worth $32,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,790,128,000 after buying an additional 322,079 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,587,939,000 after acquiring an additional 43,965 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,613,781 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $771,020,000 after acquiring an additional 68,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $537,001,000 after acquiring an additional 251,246 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer reaffirmed an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $235, suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth in Darden’s upcoming quarterly report, and Zacks said the company appears positioned for a potential earnings beat, which can support the stock ahead of results. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch noted Darden’s shares rose in Thursday trading, but the stock still lagged the broader market, indicating only modest momentum rather than a clear catalyst-driven move. MarketWatch
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent analyst and preview articles highlight that investors are awaiting Darden’s fiscal Q4 results and are focused on operating metrics beyond revenue and EPS, but these pieces are more about positioning than a new fundamental development. The Globe and Mail
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an Equal Weight rating with a $210 target, implying limited downside/upside from current levels and reflecting a more cautious stance than bullish peers. Tickerreport.com

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $213.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $200.17 and its 200 day moving average is $199.70.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.04.

About Darden Restaurants

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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