Amundi Sells 274,821 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Amundi's Stake Reduction: Amundi reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 29.8%, owning 648,028 shares worth approximately $133.28 million after selling 274,821 shares in the first quarter.
• Strong Quarterly Earnings: Darden Restaurants reported a quarterly EPS of $2.98, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $3.27 billion, reflecting a 10.6% increase from the previous year.
• Stock Buyback Program: The company's board approved a $1 billion stock repurchase program, allowing Darden to buy back up to 3.8% of its shares, indicating potential undervaluation of its stock.

Amundi lessened its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 29.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 648,028 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 274,821 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.55% of Darden Restaurants worth $133,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Melius started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $210.79. 1,199,014 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 802,231. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.98 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $208.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.53.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total transaction of $1,514,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,132,006. This trade represents a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.