MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Has $195,000 Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 75.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 124.2% during 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 in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, 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 a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 in the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 7.7%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $192.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $206.86 and a 200-day moving average of $206.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 leadership 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.