Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Has $45.23 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the first quarter, now holding approximately $45.23 million worth of shares.
• Darden Restaurants has approved a $1 billion stock repurchase plan, highlighting management's belief that its shares are undervalued.
• The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50, reflecting a positive financial outlook with a 2.9% yield.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,707 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 5,573 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC owned about 0.19% of Darden Restaurants worth $45,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $830,666,000 after acquiring an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after acquiring an additional 158,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,282,666 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $239,466,000 after acquiring an additional 116,047 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded up $2.2610 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $207.6710. The company's stock had a trading volume of 934,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,057,139. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company's 50-day moving average is $211.70 and its 200-day moving average is $204.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

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.