California State Teachers Retirement System Raises Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 25,118.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,137,478 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 34,998,143 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 30.80% of Darden Restaurants worth $7,238,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $212.82 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $229.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $209.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.81. The company has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.50.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total transaction of $463,386.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,028.05. The trade was a 34.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Williamson sold 443 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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