Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 537 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $184.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.89 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $197.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.61. 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 has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.77.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $1,438,707. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Argus cut their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.15.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.