Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,362 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 251 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 88.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 5,973 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $630,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,241 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.3% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 81,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,716,000 after buying an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $181.12 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $201.35 and its 200-day moving average is $205.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.90 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.