American Century Companies Inc. Has $16.24 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 54.8%, now holding 78,178 shares worth approximately $16.2 million after selling 94,848 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple other hedge funds have increased their positions in Darden Restaurants, with notable boosts including a 97.4% increase by Aberdeen Group and a 17.6% increase by Hamlin Capital Management.
• Darden Restaurants recently authorized a $1 billion share repurchase plan, indicating the board's belief that the company's stock is undervalued, alongside an increase in quarterly dividend payments from $1.40 to $1.50 per share.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 54.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,178 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 94,848 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $206.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 591,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,049. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $210.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.59. The company has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.98 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm 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 company's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total value of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Melius started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.