Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by AdvisorShares Investments LLC

AdvisorShares Investments LLC reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 69.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 93,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,383,000 after purchasing an additional 10,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.3%

DRI opened at $178.18 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $157.89 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $195.71 and its 200-day moving average is $204.36. The company has a market capitalization of $20.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DRI. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Argus reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.82.

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.