Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Purchases 217 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,016 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,157,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $227,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $701,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $526,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $193.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $203.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.