Voya Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,476 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,160 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 124.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total transaction of $1,514,882.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,132,006. This trade represents a 32.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 in the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $209.97 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $207.40 and its 200 day moving average is $206.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $24.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.