Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 9.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,735 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,105 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 97,154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,494,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.6% in the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $640,000. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 164.1% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 126,295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $24,042,000 after acquiring an additional 4,753 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $199.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $190.93 and a 200 day moving average of $193.91. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $207.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.