3,645 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Bought by Capital Management Associates Inc

Capital Management Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,645 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $748,215,000 after purchasing an additional 157,305 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 17.6% during the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $189,768,000 after purchasing an additional 136,382 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 625,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $129,943,000 after purchasing an additional 37,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $84,801,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of DRI opened at $188.00 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $202.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.95. The stock has a market cap of $21.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.18 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.