Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Purchased by MGO One Seven LLC

Key Points

• MGO One Seven LLC significantly increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter, holding shares worth approximately $1.38 million at the end of the period.
• Darden Restaurants reported a quarterly EPS of $1.97, falling short of analysts' expectations, though its revenue increased by 10.4% year-over-year.
• Insiders at Darden Restaurants have been selling shares, with notable transactions including 1,157 shares sold by insider Laura B. Williamson for about $236,838.

MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 4,003 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.7%

DRI opened at $188.38 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $157.89 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $200.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.20.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,176,370.40. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants 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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