Freedom Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bowman & Co S.C. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,099,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,341 shares of company stock worth $1,438,707 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.15.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $184.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $157.89 and a one year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

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.