Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 56,811 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $12,383,000. Darden Restaurants comprises approximately 5.6% of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $266,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 361,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $75,036,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 9,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE DRI opened at $177.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $192.96 and its 200-day moving average is $203.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $159.40 and a one year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Argus cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.82.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.