Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Boosts Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt has increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 21.2%, now owning 28,581 shares worth approximately $6.2 million.
• Darden Restaurants recently reported an EPS of $1.97 for the quarter, missing expectations, but achieved a 10.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company's Board has authorized a $1 billion share buyback, signaling confidence in the stock's value, with a current dividend of $1.50 per share and a yield of 3.1%.

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,581 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,987,000 after buying an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $84,801,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $53,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after buying an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3,824.2% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 177,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,819,000 after buying an additional 172,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $184.92. The company had a trading volume of 439,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,325,368. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.17. The company has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. 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 twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. 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. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,264 shares of company stock worth $5,024,790. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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.