Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 96.3%, now holding only 3,694 shares valued at approximately $767,000.
• Darden reported a 10.6% year-over-year revenue increase, with a quarterly revenue of $3.27 billion and earnings per share of $2.98, slightly beating estimates.
• The company has announced a $1 billion stock buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50 per share, signaling confidence in its stock value.

Nomura Holdings Inc. decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 96.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,694 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 96,277 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,504 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,257 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 76.1% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,829,000 after buying an additional 6,547 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $370,000. Finally, BOKF NA raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 15,103 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,719,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on DRI. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of DRI stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $209.71. 631,494 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,286,348. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $208.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.98 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue 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, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.