Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 2,703 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,679 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,703 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $14,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE DRI opened at $215.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.00 and a 200-day moving average of $204.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The business 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 company earned $2.98 earnings per share. The firm’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 research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,271.04. This trade represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.