Danske Bank A S Buys New Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S acquired 69,140 shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter, valued at approximately $14.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of the company.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $1.50 to $1.62 per share, producing a 3.0% annualized yield.
• Insiders have sold 70,185 shares worth about $14.6 million over the past 90 days. Despite recent insider selling, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $228.88.

Danske Bank A S purchased a new position 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 and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 69,140 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $14,244,000. Danske Bank A S owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 sale, the insider directly owned 18,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. The trade was a 32.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $217.89 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $208.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.32. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $229.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. 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 a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Company 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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