Armistice Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 61,578 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants by purchasing 61,578 shares, valued at approximately $12.79 million, representing about 0.05% of the company's stock.
• Darden Restaurants recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share, up from $1.40, translating to an annualized yield of 2.9%.
• Equities analysts have raised their target prices for Darden Restaurants, with Barclays setting a new target of $255.00, reflecting generalized positive sentiment toward the stock.

Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 61,578 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $12,793,000. Armistice Capital LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Darden Restaurants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE DRI opened at $207.02 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $209.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.98 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

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

Darden Restaurants 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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.