Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 2,438 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 22.3%, owning approximately 8,495 shares valued at $1.76 million after selling 2,438 shares in the first quarter.
• Darden Restaurants reported earnings of $2.98 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a new share repurchase program aimed at buying back $1 billion in stock.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 2.9%, up from the previous $1.40.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,495 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,438 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $748,215,000 after purchasing an additional 157,305 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $189,768,000 after purchasing an additional 136,382 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 591,668 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $110,458,000 after acquiring an additional 81,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Stephens upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5%

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $208.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 783,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,046. The firm's 50 day moving average is $208.78 and its 200 day moving average is $205.04. The company has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.98 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

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. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given 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 was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend 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.