Global Retirement Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,089 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $891,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% in the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $189,768,000 after purchasing an additional 136,382 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,441,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,275,000 after buying an additional 4,804 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $795,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $180.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.60 and a 200-day moving average of $200.98. The company has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.67 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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 expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Argus cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.