Greenleaf Trust Trims Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Greenleaf Trust trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after acquiring 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% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Melius started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $193.40 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $203.05 and its 200 day moving average is $206.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,176,370.40. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738 in the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.