Retireful LLC Trims Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Retireful LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 36.9% in Q2, holding 4,412 shares valued at approximately $962,000 at the end of the reporting period.
• Insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares for about $2.94 million, resulting in a 22.65% decrease in his holdings in the company.
• Darden Restaurants recently announced a $1 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Retireful LLC lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,412 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,583 shares during the period. Retireful LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, 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 value of $2,937,010.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The sale 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 dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,264 shares of company stock valued at $5,024,790. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $186.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.18 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $205.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.90. The firm has a market cap of $21.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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