Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Holdings

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Darden Restaurants stake by 55.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 48,036 shares valued at approximately $9.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s stock.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.82. Recent firms raised targets as high as $255 per share.
• Darden reported quarterly revenue of $3.20 billion and earnings of $2.05 per share, while revenue increased 5.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, representing a 3.0% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 55.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,036 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 17,092 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, August 24th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $216.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $211.63 and a 200-day moving average of $205.03. The stock has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 63.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $1,846,637.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. The trade was a 32.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,028.05. This represents a 34.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,255 shares of company stock valued at $12,589,319. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company's portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth's Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.

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