Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 8,022 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,022 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 98.5% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,206,000 after purchasing an additional 31,815 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 164.1% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 3,027 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,536,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth $2,816,000. Finally, Midwest Trust Co purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $2,441,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of DRI opened at $210.00 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $205.13 and its 200 day moving average is $194.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $480,954.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at $3,787,992. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,644.80. This trade represents a 42.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 over the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.78.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.