Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,089 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired 3,089 shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. valued at approximately $667,000 in the second quarter, as noted in their recent SEC filing.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Darden Restaurants, with updates from firms such as BMO Capital Markets and Raymond James Financial, indicating a strong outlook for the stock.
• Darden Restaurants has declared a quarterly dividend increase to $1.50 per share and announced a $1 billion share buyback program, reflecting confidence in its value and financial health.

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,089 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust increased 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.54.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $208.81 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.18 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $207.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.14.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company'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. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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