Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank decreased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 5.7%, selling 2,192 shares and now holding 36,165 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported earnings of $2.98 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a revenue increase of 10.6% year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a $1 billion share buyback program and recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50.

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,165 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,192 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 in the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $207.02. The stock had a trading volume of 701,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $209.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.91. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.98 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 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 price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

About Darden Restaurants

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.