Decatur Capital Management Inc. Invests $3.75 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

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Decatur Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 18,063 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,753,000. Darden Restaurants makes up 1.9% of Decatur Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first 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 period. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $0.9060 during trading on Thursday, hitting $206.5840. 581,863 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,053,138. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $211.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.23 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants 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.