Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 202 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,679 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $181.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $21.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.90 and a 1 year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.