Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Acquired by Shell Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 92.6% in the second quarter, totaling 26,431 shares valued at approximately $5.76 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.97 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 10.4% year-over-year to $3.04 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 3.1%, and has also authorized a $1.00 billion share buyback plan.

Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 92.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,431 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 12,710 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 42,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $9,198,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 66.8% during the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.5% in the second quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 43,630 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $9,510,000 after acquiring an additional 4,485 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,496,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 120.4% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,959 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DRI shares. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $193.41 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $202.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.

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