Forsta AP Fonden Sells 1,200 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,464 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after purchasing an additional 4,864 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 115.3% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 3,619 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.5% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.9%

DRI opened at $173.83 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.40 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $188.90 and a 200-day moving average of $202.59. The stock has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.