AE Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,845 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,845 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $830,666,000 after acquiring an additional 247,542 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the second quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 918,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $200,181,000 after purchasing an additional 4,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 625,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $129,943,000 after purchasing an additional 37,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $84,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:DRI opened at $173.83 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $188.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.40 and a 1-year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.82.

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 dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.