Integrity Alliance LLC. Invests $932,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC has acquired 4,484 shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. ($DRI), valued at approximately $932,000, marking a new investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Darden Restaurants reported $2.98 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.6%.
• The company's Board of Directors has approved a $1.00 billion stock repurchase program, indicating management's belief that shares are currently undervalued.

Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,484 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $932,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Melius assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 in the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $212.62. 1,138,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 855,681. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $155.18 and a one year high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $207.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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

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.