Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon Corp slightly increased its position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter, while other institutional investors also added to or adjusted their holdings. Institutions and hedge funds collectively own 93.64% of the company.
• Darden posted better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $3.66 versus the $3.63 consensus, with revenue up 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also guided FY 2027 EPS to 11.10-11.35.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share from $1.50, implying a $6.48 annualized payout and a 3.3% yield. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $228.88.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,010,169 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 5,318 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.88% of Darden Restaurants worth $198,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $17,438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,964,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. The trade was a 70.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price 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. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $198.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $220.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.43%.

Darden Restaurants Profile

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.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.