Riverview Trust Co Reduces Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Riverview Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 22.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 380 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $83,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $84,801,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $53,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $830,666,000 after buying an additional 247,542 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3,824.2% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 177,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,819,000 after buying an additional 172,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $748,215,000 after buying an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $192.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $155.18 and a one year high of $228.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants 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.