MQS Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,041 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $1,438,707. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:DRI opened at $184.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.89 and a 52-week high of $228.27. 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 cap of $21.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.