Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 35.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,340 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:DRI opened at $201.22 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $220.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $202.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last issued 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 business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.32.

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.