Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $3.54 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,241 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE DRI opened at $186.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.32. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $157.01 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.