NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Grows Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,376,000 after buying an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $33,728,000 after buying an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 124.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 4.1%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $184.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $206.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.07. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on DRI. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Melius started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.96.

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.