433 Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Bought by Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC

Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 433 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,053 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $206.54 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.98 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $210.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.59. The firm has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,132,006. This trade represents a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.