Corient Private Wealth LP Makes New $5.75 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth acquired 27,931 Darden Restaurants shares worth approximately $5.75 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of the company.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62, representing a 3.0% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $230.50. However, company insiders sold 70,185 shares worth roughly $14.6 million over the past 90 days.

Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,931 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,754,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $923,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $2,404,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 61,922 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $11,395,000 after buying an additional 5,348 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $1,657,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2,139.4% during the 4th quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 59,837 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,011,000 after acquiring an additional 57,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $214.32 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. 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. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Argus upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. The trade was a 70.45% 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 ninety days. 0.67% of the stock is 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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