Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Purchased by Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $84,801,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3,824.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 177,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,819,000 after purchasing an additional 172,701 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.2%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $187.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.89 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $198.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock worth $1,438,707. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.15.

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.