Forum Financial Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bowman & Co S.C. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Argus lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $1,438,707. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $184.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $197.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.74. The firm has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $157.89 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its 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 firm 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%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.31%.

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.