ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Sells 69 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,182 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $526,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,635 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 555.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $215,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1%

DRI opened at $193.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.18 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $202.83 and a 200 day moving average of $206.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.