Capital International Inc. CA Boosts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in Darden by 36.5% in Q3 to 172,609 shares (~$32.9M), and other large funds (JPMorgan, Marshall Wace, Invesco, Arrowstreet, Norges Bank) also added positions, leaving institutional investors with 93.64% ownership.
• Darden reported Q results with EPS of $2.08 (a $0.02 miss) and revenue of $3.10B (beat), set FY2026 guidance of EPS $10.50–$10.70, and pays a $6.00 annual dividend (3.0% yield).
• Insiders sold 18,770 shares (~$3.95M) in the last 90 days, reducing insider ownership to 0.49%, while analysts carry a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $224.89.

Capital International Inc. CA grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,609 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 46,162 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA owned 0.15% of Darden Restaurants worth $32,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $153,977,000 after purchasing an additional 629,669 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 45.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $417,935,000 after buying an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $191,980,000 after buying an additional 579,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $125,521,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $201.70 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $206.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 62.89%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. This trade represents a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 in the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.89.

About Darden Restaurants

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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