Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 236.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,939 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $11,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,178 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.8% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,198,000 after buying an additional 3,719 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.0% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bowman & Co S.C. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,099,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,264 shares of company stock valued at $5,024,790 over the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.2%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $185.07 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $155.18 and a one year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.