EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors initiated a Darden Restaurants position by purchasing 5,168 shares worth approximately $1.065 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s outstanding stock.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $1.50 to $1.62, producing an annualized yield of about 2.9%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.88; however, company insiders sold more than 70,000 shares worth roughly $14.6 million over the past 90 days.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,168 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,065,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $2,015,109,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after buying an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $629,736,000 after purchasing an additional 991,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $204,099,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $144,483,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1%

DRI stock opened at $221.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.32, for a total value of $226,795.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,754 shares in the company, valued at $2,197,257.28. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. Evercore lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.88.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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