Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 71,841 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.6%, now holding 1,210,825 shares valued at approximately $251.5 million.
• Darden Restaurants has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.50 per share, representing a 2.9% yield, alongside a new $1 billion share repurchase plan.
• Analysts are optimistic about Darden's future, with multiple price target upgrades recently issued, suggesting a consensus price target of around $225.19.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,210,825 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 71,841 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.03% of Darden Restaurants worth $251,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,612 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $85,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value 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 trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $0.9060 during trading on Thursday, reaching $206.5840. The company had a trading volume of 581,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,107. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.23 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75. The business's 50-day moving average is $211.50 and its 200 day moving average is $204.34. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants'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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DRI. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

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.