Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH Cuts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 139 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $1,438,707 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

DRI opened at $183.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $197.31 and its 200-day moving average is $204.70. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.89 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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 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 3.3%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. 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 report on Friday, September 19th. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.15.

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.