Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:DRI opened at $191.40 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $202.41 and a 200-day moving average of $206.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

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.