Korea Investment CORP Invests $9.94 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP acquired a new $9.94 million position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter, purchasing 48,267 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment is favorable, with 18 Buy ratings and nine Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $230.12. Robert W. Baird upgraded the stock to “outperform” with a $250 target.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62, equivalent to a 2.9% annual yield.

Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 48,267 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $9,943,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,015,109,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in 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 worth $629,736,000 after purchasing an additional 991,230 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $204,099,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $144,483,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.12.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $225.56 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.61. The firm has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants 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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