91,000 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Acquired by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, purchasing 91,000 shares valued at approximately $18.9 million, bringing its ownership to about 0.08% of the company.
• Darden Restaurants recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.50 per share, up from $1.40, representing a 2.8% yield.
• Equities analysts have set a consensus price target of $224.92 for Darden Restaurants, with ratings indicating a Moderate Buy sentiment among investment analysts.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 91,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $18,906,000. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.08% of Darden Restaurants at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.3% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,138 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,196 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,650,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 22,444 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,663,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,522 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $932,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.96.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $2.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $209.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,261,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,283,917. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $207.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $24.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.18 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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.