OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Invests $1.29 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• OMERS Administration Corp. acquired 6,254 shares of Darden Restaurants valued at approximately $1.29 million, while institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $230.12; Darden recently reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, slightly exceeding estimates.
• Darden increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, equivalent to an annualized $6.48 dividend and a 3.0% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold roughly $14.6 million of stock over the past three months.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.12.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:DRI opened at $218.95 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $229.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm's 50 day moving average is $209.01 and its 200 day moving average is $204.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $858,864.65. This represents a 70.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.32, for a total transaction of $226,795.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,197,257.28. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.