Belpointe Asset Management LLC Buys 582 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. This represents a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.92.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $212.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $207.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.94. The company has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.18 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

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.