BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Has $2.18 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 24.0%, bringing its total investment to approximately $2.18 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.98, surpassing analysts' expectations and showcasing a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.6%.
• The company has authorized a $1.00 billion stock buyback plan, indicating a strong belief from the board in the company's value amidst relatively high insider selling activity.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 24.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,514 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,053 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Melius began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of DRI stock traded down $3.1920 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $205.3880. 995,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,413. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.98 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $211.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.