1,983 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Purchased by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd has established a new position in Darden Restaurants, purchasing 1,983 shares valued at approximately $432,000 during the second quarter.
• Darden Restaurants announced a share buyback program worth $1.00 billion, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $1.97 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, while quarterly revenue rose by 10.4% compared to the previous year.

Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,983 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bowman & Co S.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $185.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,103,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.17.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Melius started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Argus dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.96.

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.