Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $3.19 Million Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 820.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,503 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $1,157,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Brian Low Financial Group LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 11.9% during the first quarter. Brian Low Financial Group LLC now owns 5,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,930 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.32.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.0%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $213.79 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $222.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $201.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $24.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.80%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Darden to $240 from $230 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in additional upside after the quarter. UBS price target increase on Darden Restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank lifted its target to $236 from $230 and kept a buy rating, citing room for continued gains. Deutsche Bank price target increase on Darden Restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG, Stephens, Piper Sandler, Robert W. Baird and others also raised targets after reviewing the quarter, which reinforces the market’s view that Darden’s brand strength and long-term earnings power remain intact. Analysts boost forecasts after Darden Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: The company beat fiscal Q4 EPS estimates, reported 13.7% year-over-year revenue growth, raised its quarterly dividend 8%, and authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program, all of which are supportive for shareholder returns. Darden fiscal 2026 results and capital return actions
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s fiscal 2027 guidance was slightly below Wall Street’s EPS expectations and revenue came in just under forecasts, which tempers the post-earnings enthusiasm. Darden earnings coverage from CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted that Olive Garden and other comparable sales trends were mixed, suggesting that not all brands are accelerating evenly despite LongHorn Steakhouse’s strength. Mixed Q4 results and brand performance for Darden

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.