The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires Shares of 259,175 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 259,175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $53,393,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $2,404,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,319,000 after acquiring an additional 5,830 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after acquiring an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 313.9% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,598 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 10,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 61,922 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,395,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,134,271.04. This trade represents a 7.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $218.95 on Thursday. 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 $229.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.71. The stock has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.

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.