Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 2,301 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.1%, selling 2,301 shares, bringing its total holdings to 22,862 shares valued at approximately $4.98 million.
• Analysts have issued new price targets for Darden Restaurants, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target from $218 to $240, contributing to its overall "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Darden Restaurants announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2%, highlighting its strong financial position alongside a recent $1 billion stock buyback plan.

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,862 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,301 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,674 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $15,175,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 173,318 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $32,357,000 after acquiring an additional 12,434 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Melius began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $187.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.18 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $204.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,264 shares of company stock valued at $5,024,790 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.