Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 21,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,403,000.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $423,000. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 20,886 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,303,000 after buying an additional 3,574 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 27,125 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,588,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $581,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.88.
Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.8%
Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $225.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.63. The firm has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,226 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,028.05. This trade represents a 34.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.
About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.
Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.
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