Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Credit Agricole S A

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A significantly reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 73.2%, selling 28,039 shares, leaving it with 10,274 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.98, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a revenue of $3.27 billion, marking a 10.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a stock buyback plan worth $1.00 billion and recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50 per share, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Credit Agricole S A lowered its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 73.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,274 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 28,039 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 143,947 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,873,000 after purchasing an additional 35,894 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,305 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $540,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 153.0% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 10,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 6,186 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of DRI opened at $208.49 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $211.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.74 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

About Darden Restaurants

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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