Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Takes $218,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 17.6% in the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $189,768,000 after acquiring an additional 136,382 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 625,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $129,943,000 after acquiring an additional 37,878 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $84,801,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $188.00 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $202.10 and its 200 day moving average is $205.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $21.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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 forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.31%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.59.

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.