Keybank National Association OH Acquires 534 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $84,801,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $53,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $830,666,000 after buying an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3,824.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 177,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,819,000 after buying an additional 172,701 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research reduced their target price 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. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.82.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $180.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.14 and a 200-day moving average of $204.26. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.89 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.