Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.6%, acquiring an additional 157,305 shares and owning a total of 3,601,340 shares, which is valued at approximately $748.2 million.
• Darden recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.50 per share and initiated a $1 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for Darden Restaurants, with estimates ranging from $200.00 to $252.00, and the stock holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 3.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $748,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $2.2610 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $207.6710. 934,686 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,057,139. The company has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $211.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.32.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The company 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 company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Melius Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Melius started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

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.