Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.5%, selling 33,576 shares and now owning approximately 0.27% of the company valued at $66.5 million.
• Darden Restaurants has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a yield of 2.9%.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on Darden, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold," and the average target price currently set at $225.19.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,069 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 33,576 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.27% of Darden Restaurants worth $66,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after acquiring an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $748,215,000 after buying an additional 157,305 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,987,000 after buying an additional 926,901 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 17.6% in the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $189,768,000 after buying an additional 136,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 591,668 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $110,458,000 after buying an additional 81,131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $252.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $208.00. The company had a trading volume of 783,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,046. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.98 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $208.78 and a 200-day moving average of $205.04.

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

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

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.