Bank of Nova Scotia Has $13.04 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its Darden Restaurants stake by 36.2% in the first quarter, but still held 66,545 shares valued at about $13.0 million.
• Darden’s latest quarter topped profit expectations, with EPS of $3.66 versus estimates of $3.63, while revenue came in at $3.72 billion and rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share from $1.50, and analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $228.88.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 36.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,545 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 37,679 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $13,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,483,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,301,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,884,339 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $346,756,000 after purchasing an additional 563,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 239.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $157,490,000 after buying an additional 509,655 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $196.28 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $202.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $220.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.88.

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.

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