Prudential Financial Inc. Buys 12,165 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 600,989 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 12,165 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $130,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $84,801,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,055,185 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,063,609,000 after purchasing an additional 284,814 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $53,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,134,246 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $680,418,000 after purchasing an additional 175,811 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $174.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $184.82 and its 200-day moving average is $201.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $159.67 and a one 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.31%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Argus reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut 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, September 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.82.

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.