Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 175,811 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,134,246 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 175,811 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.69% of Darden Restaurants worth $680,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $173.83 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $188.90 and its 200 day moving average is $202.59. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.40 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. The company has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.31%.

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.