Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Has $3.17 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 659 shares during the quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 66.8% during the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 43,630 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,510,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 120.4% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,959 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,714 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $193.33 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.18 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.31%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.96.

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.