Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Newport Trust Company LLC

Key Points

• Newport Trust Company LLC has decreased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, now holding 1,902,744 shares valued at approximately $395 million.
• Darden Restaurants recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50, raising it from the previous amount of $1.40, which represents an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a yield of 2.9%.
• The company reported earnings of $2.98 per share, exceeding estimates, and its stock has a current market capitalization of $24.09 billion.

Newport Trust Company LLC trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,902,744 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 23,186 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants accounts for approximately 1.0% of Newport Trust Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Newport Trust Company LLC owned approximately 1.63% of Darden Restaurants worth $395,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on DRI. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Sixteen 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5%

DRI stock traded down $3.1920 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $205.3880. 995,227 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,317,413. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.98 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $211.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75.

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

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.