Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Has $853,000 Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC decreased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,915 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 548 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $193.33 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.