Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Bought by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management boosted its Darden Restaurants stake by 820.3% in the first quarter, ending with 16,271 shares worth about $3.19 million. Institutional investors now own 93.64% of the company.
• Darden reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS of $3.66 and 13.7% revenue growth, while also raising its quarterly dividend by 8% and authorizing a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program.
• Analysts remain upbeat after the results, with several firms raising price targets; however, fiscal 2027 guidance came in slightly below expectations and some brand sales trends were mixed.

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 820.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,271 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 14,503 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Darden Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Darden to $240 from $230 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in additional upside after the quarter. UBS price target increase on Darden Restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank lifted its target to $236 from $230 and kept a buy rating, citing room for continued gains. Deutsche Bank price target increase on Darden Restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG, Stephens, Piper Sandler, Robert W. Baird and others also raised targets after reviewing the quarter, which reinforces the market’s view that Darden’s brand strength and long-term earnings power remain intact. Analysts boost forecasts after Darden Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: The company beat fiscal Q4 EPS estimates, reported 13.7% year-over-year revenue growth, raised its quarterly dividend 8%, and authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program, all of which are supportive for shareholder returns. Darden fiscal 2026 results and capital return actions
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s fiscal 2027 guidance was slightly below Wall Street’s EPS expectations and revenue came in just under forecasts, which tempers the post-earnings enthusiasm. Darden earnings coverage from CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted that Olive Garden and other comparable sales trends were mixed, suggesting that not all brands are accelerating evenly despite LongHorn Steakhouse’s strength. Mixed Q4 results and brand performance for Darden

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $213.79 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $201.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.60. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $222.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 57.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.32.

About Darden Restaurants

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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