Silvant Capital Management LLC Takes $5.34 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Silvant Capital Management acquired 25,938 shares of Darden Restaurants worth approximately $5.34 million, while institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of the stock.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, exceeding estimates, as revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% yield.
• DRI shares opened at $217.89, near their $229.76 52-week high. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $228.88, although insiders sold roughly $14.6 million of shares during the quarter.

Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 25,938 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,343,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,404,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,319,000 after buying an additional 5,830 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after buying an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 313.9% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,598 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,502,000 after buying an additional 10,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 61,922 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $11,395,000 after buying an additional 5,348 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $217.89 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.32. The company has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $229.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $867,028.05. This represents a 34.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens upped 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. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants 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.

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