Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 166.2% in the first quarter, buying an additional 32,553 shares and bringing its total holding to 52,142 shares worth about $10.2 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also set FY 2027 EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share from $1.50, implying a 3.3% yield. Meanwhile, analysts remain generally constructive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $228.88.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 166.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 32,553 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,790,128,000 after purchasing an additional 322,079 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,587,939,000 after purchasing an additional 43,965 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the 4th 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $771,020,000 after acquiring an additional 68,245 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $537,001,000 after purchasing an additional 251,246 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $195.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $22.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $202.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.52. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $220.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. The firm'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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Argus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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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