Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $68.57 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 314,564 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 53,224 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $68,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 115.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9%

DRI opened at $173.83 on Friday. 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 $159.40 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company 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 50 day moving average of $188.90 and a 200 day moving average of $202.59.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued 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 $225.82.

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.