NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires 2,733 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 57.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,505 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,733 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $196.28 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $202.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $220.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Seventeen 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.