Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Cuts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $184.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.90 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.44. The company has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Argus decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.59.

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.