Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $2.89 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired 13,888 shares of Darden Restaurants, valued at approximately $2.88 million, as part of its first-quarter investment strategy.
• Research analysts have raised their target prices on Darden Restaurants, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $235, reflecting positive expectations for the company's growth.
• Darden Restaurants announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan and increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50, indicating confidence in its stock value and financial health.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,888 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,885,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $84,801,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $48,919,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $53,760,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after acquiring an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of DRI traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $208.35. The company had a trading volume of 427,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,847. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.98 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DRI. UBS Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.19.

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.