Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,028 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted 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. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% in the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $189,768,000 after purchasing an additional 136,382 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 625,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $129,943,000 after purchasing an additional 37,878 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $84,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $186.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $200.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.01 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.