Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 13,634 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the first quarter, purchasing an additional 13,634 shares to hold a total of 296,772 shares worth approximately $61.67 million.
• In addition to Ameriprise, other hedge funds have significantly boosted their investments in Darden, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by 46,484.5% recently.
• Darden Restaurants announced a share repurchase plan allowing the buyback of up to $1 billion in stock, alongside a dividend increase to $1.50 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 296,772 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 13,634 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.25% of Darden Restaurants worth $61,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.4% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,915 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 275,907 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $57,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.3% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 6,748 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.1% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of DRI traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.02. The company had a trading volume of 701,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,422. The firm has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $209.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.83. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.98 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.