Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P has reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 32.0%, owning 7,544 shares valued at $1,567,000 after selling 3,547 shares in the first quarter.
• Darden Restaurants recently boosted its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50 per share, equating to an annual yield of 2.9%.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on Darden, with 16 out of 27 giving it a Buy rating and a target price averaging $225.19 following a strong earnings report and price hikes from firms like JPMorgan and BMO Capital.

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,544 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,547 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 buying an additional 926,901 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $84,801,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,919,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $71,883,000 after buying an additional 227,977 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $208.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $211.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.48. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.74 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share 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 buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Melius initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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