NewEdge Advisors LLC Has $11.98 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, raising their holdings by 3.4% to a total value of $11.98 million as of the most recent SEC filing.
• Darden Restaurants reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.98, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a new $1 billion share buyback plan as well as an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share.
• Institutional investors own a significant portion, 93.64%, of Darden's stock, indicating strong interest and confidence from financial institutions in the company's performance.

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,674 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $11,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $590,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 164,308 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,137,000 after buying an additional 14,045 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 144.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 212,874 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $43,692,000 after buying an additional 125,907 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,315,000. Finally, Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.92.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $213.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 335,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,817. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $207.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $155.18 and a one year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.