Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 515.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,251 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $187.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $199.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.06. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.89 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.59.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575 in the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.