Rep. Lisa C. McClain Purchases Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Representative Lisa C. McClain (R-Michigan) recently bought shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI). In a filing disclosed on November 21st, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Darden Restaurants stock on October 30th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “CHARLES SCHWAB 401K > SCHWAB 893” account.

Representative Lisa C. McClain also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Coherent (NYSE:COHR) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Clorox (NYSE:CLX) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) on 10/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) on 10/31/2025.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $180.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.13. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $159.67 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company 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 earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth $3,074,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,543,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 25.5% in the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,667 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.64.

About Representative McClain

Lisa McClain (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Michigan’s 9th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

McClain (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan’s 9th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Lisa McClain lives in Romeo, Michigan. McClain earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwood University. Her career experience includes founding and working as the president of North End Support Team.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.