Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Purchases 135,012 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 687,218 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 135,012 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.59% of Darden Restaurants worth $149,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $153,977,000 after acquiring an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $417,935,000 after purchasing an additional 596,863 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $191,980,000 after purchasing an additional 579,759 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $125,521,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 239.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,490,000 after purchasing an additional 509,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $182.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.67 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $180.20 and its 200 day moving average is $198.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DRI. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.93.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

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 stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.