Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 10,072 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its Darden stake by 8.1%, buying 10,072 shares to hold 133,960 shares (about 0.12%) valued at roughly $25.5 million.
• Other institutions ramped up exposure—JPMorgan now owns ~2.67M shares (~$507.7M), Marshall Wace, Invesco and Arrowstreet added large stakes, and Norges Bank opened a ~$125.5M position; institutional investors own 93.64% of DRI.
• Darden reported $2.08 EPS (missed by $0.02) on $3.10B revenue (beat estimates), set FY2026 guidance of $10.50–$10.70 EPS, and pays a $1.50 quarterly dividend (2.9% yield).

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,960 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 10,072 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Darden Restaurants worth $25,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $507,675,000 after buying an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $153,977,000 after buying an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $417,935,000 after buying an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 192.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $191,980,000 after acquiring an additional 579,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,521,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $203.44 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $206.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.69.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $227.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $207.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.33.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at $9,165,474.24. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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