Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $15.37 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management acquired 74,608 Darden Restaurants shares worth approximately $15.37 million, giving it a 0.07% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with 18 Buy ratings and nine Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $230.12.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, or $6.48 annually.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 74,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $15,370,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Darden Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.12.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $1,846,637.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,794 shares in the company, valued at $3,915,354.02. The trade was a 32.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $220.39 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 quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $208.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.67. The firm has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.43%.

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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