Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Stake Boosted by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.4%, acquiring an additional 6,420 shares, bringing its total holdings to 68,006 shares worth approximately $14.1 million.
• Darden's board has authorized a $1 billion share buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, a boost from the previous $1.40, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,006 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 6,420 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $901,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 89.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,525 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Corient IA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $416,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 547.7% during the first quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 4,534 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 217,707 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $45,231,000 after purchasing an additional 5,573 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DRI. Melius began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE DRI traded down $3.1920 on Monday, hitting $205.3880. 995,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,413. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $211.11 and a 200 day moving average of $204.51. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.98 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.