Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Stock Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,360 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 66.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,146 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,706,000 after buying an additional 42,907 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $248,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 12,735 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,865 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.0%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $228.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $233.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $210.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $248.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company’s portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.