Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Has $3.12 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 422.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 11,589 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $153,977,000 after purchasing an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $417,935,000 after buying an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,980,000 after acquiring an additional 579,759 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,521,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 239.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $157,490,000 after acquiring an additional 509,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.39.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $192.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $180.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.14. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by 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.