United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 15,921 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,921 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,280,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.2%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $215.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $229.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Evercore lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.50.

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.