Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 1,606 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 69.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,922 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $34,000. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.4%

DRI stock opened at $188.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $199.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.87. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $157.89 and a one year high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

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.

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