WINTON GROUP Ltd Makes New $1.35 Million Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,578 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 57.7% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 64,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,234,000 after purchasing an additional 23,502 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 13,857 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 19.2% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 64,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,242,000 after buying an additional 4,846 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, 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 transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.32, for a total value of $226,795.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,197,257.28. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Evercore lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.79.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $209.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $229.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.