Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 36.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,305 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $84,801,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $48,919,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 227,977 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DRI. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $207.5560 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.23 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $211.50 and its 200 day moving average is $204.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. The trade was 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 worth $10,022,232. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.