UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Raises Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its Darden Restaurants stake by 14.9% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 685,636 shares valued at approximately $141.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $230.50; Darden shares recently traded at $215.75.
• Darden exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $3.66 in EPS, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62, equating to a 3.0% annualized yield.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 685,636 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 89,157 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.60% of Darden Restaurants worth $141,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $923,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $2,404,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted 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 worth $11,395,000 after acquiring an additional 5,348 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $1,657,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2,139.4% during the 4th quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 59,837 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,011,000 after purchasing an additional 57,165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DRI. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore cut Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.50.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of DRI opened at $215.75 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $209.14 and a 200 day moving average of $204.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.43%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,799,490. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total value of $90,766.27. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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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