Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Boosts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st 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 purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.96.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $193.33 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.83 and a 200 day moving average of $206.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

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

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.