MBB Public Markets I LLC Acquires New Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc., purchasing 1,589 shares valued at approximately $330,000.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Darden, with BMO Capital Markets adjusting its target from $190.00 to $215.00 and Barclays increasing from $235.00 to $255.00, indicating strong confidence in the stock's performance.
• Darden recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,589 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This trade represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $252.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Melius began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.92.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE DRI traded down $0.78 on Friday, hitting $212.62. 1,138,507 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 865,632. 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 fifty day moving average price of $207.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.18 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.