Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, owning approximately 0.12% of the company after selling 2,094 shares.
• Darden Restaurants announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Darden's stock, with an average price target of $225.59; nineteen analysts rated it a Buy, while ten rated it a Hold.

US Bancorp DE lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 144,586 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,094 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.12% of Darden Restaurants worth $31,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,728,000 after acquiring an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 124.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $181.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.90 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $201.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575 in the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.