Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Sells 250 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,548 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,264 shares of company stock worth $5,024,790. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $188.49 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $204.23 and its 200 day moving average is $205.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.96.

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.