New York State Teachers Retirement System Buys 4,530 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3%, owning a total of 109,388 shares, valued at $23.8 million after purchasing an additional 4,530 shares.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for Darden Restaurants, with price targets ranging from $200.00 to $254.00, and a consensus rating of 'Moderate Buy'.
• Darden recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%, along with a stock buyback program valued at $1 billion.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,388 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 4,530 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of Darden Restaurants worth $23,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $188.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $199.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.91. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $157.89 and a one year high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Darden Restaurants

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.