Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,591 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 469 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $34,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of DRI opened at $187.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $157.89 and a one year high of $228.27. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $199.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.87.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. 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 is currently 64.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Argus decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.