KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $9.20 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, owning 42,200 shares valued at approximately $9.20 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported quarterly earnings of $1.97 per share, missing estimates by $0.04, despite a year-over-year revenue growth of 10.4%.
• The company announced a $1 billion share buyback plan and a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $217,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $219,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $413,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 124.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $186.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $201.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.79. 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575 over the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.59.

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.

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