Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 36.6%, resulting in ownership of approximately 0.21% of the company valued at $53.2 million as of the most recent reporting period.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Darden Restaurants, with Charles Schwab Investment Management boosting its stake by 6.6% to approximately $830.7 million during the first quarter.
• Darden Restaurants announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, a 3.1% yield, with a total annualized dividend of $6.00 and a payout ratio of 64.31%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 36.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,973 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 140,966 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned approximately 0.21% of Darden Restaurants worth $53,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after buying an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $748,215,000 after buying an additional 157,305 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% in the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $189,768,000 after acquiring an additional 136,382 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 625,449 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $129,943,000 after acquiring an additional 37,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $84,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Argus decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.96.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738 in the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.0%

DRI opened at $192.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.97. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.18 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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