Belpointe Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 66.8%, owning a total of 4,207 shares valued at approximately $917,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Institutional investors own 93.64% of Darden Restaurants stock, with multiple firms, including Bowman & Co S.C. and Rise Advisors LLC, also boosting their stakes during the second quarter.
• Darden Restaurants recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with a payout ratio of 64.31%, and it has authorized a $1.00 billion share repurchase program, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.

Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 66.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,207 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bowman & Co S.C. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 52 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 other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575 over the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $188.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $21.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $202.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.95. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.18 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.31%.

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.

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