Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Shares Unloaded Rep. Lisa C. McClain

Key Points

• Rep. Lisa C. McClain sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) on July 22nd, as disclosed in a filing.
• Darden Restaurants recently announced a $1 billion stock repurchase plan and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.50, reflecting confidence in the company's financial health.
• Institutional investors own approximately 93.64% of Darden Restaurants, indicating strong confidence in the company's potential.

Representative Lisa C. McClain (R-Michigan) recently sold shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. NYSE: DRI. In a filing disclosed on August 13th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Darden Restaurants stock on July 22nd. The trade occurred in the Representative's "CHARLES SCHWAB BROKERAGE ACCOUNT 924" account.

Representative Lisa C. McClain also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Autoliv NYSE: ALV on 8/4/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com NASDAQ: AMZN on 8/4/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT on 8/4/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. NYSE: AJG on 8/4/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of SAP NYSE: SAP on 7/22/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of XPO NYSE: XPO on 7/22/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Lithia Motors NYSE: LAD on 7/22/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Sanofi NASDAQ: SNY on 7/22/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Waters NYSE: WAT on 7/22/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Group 1 Automotive NYSE: GPI on 7/22/2025.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $2.2610 on Tuesday, hitting $207.6710. The company's stock had a trading volume of 934,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,084. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $211.87 and a 200-day moving average of $204.29.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

About Representative McClain

Lisa McClain (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Michigan's 9th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027. McClain (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 9th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Lisa McClain lives in Romeo, Michigan. McClain earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Northwood University. Her career experience includes founding and working as the president of North End Support Team.

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.