Osaic Holdings Inc. Buys 9,574 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,723 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,574 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $9,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Key Darden Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised revenue outlook and solid top‑line — Darden reported revenue of $3.10B (+7.3% y/y) and strong comps at Olive Garden and LongHorn, and raised its full‑year sales outlook, a clear positive for growth expectations. PR Newswire: Q2 results & outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Strong analyst buy support — Multiple firms reiterated buy ratings and bullish price targets (Bank of America kept a Buy with a $261 target; BTIG reaffirmed Buy at $225; Stifel maintained bullish stance), supporting upside sentiment. TipRanks: BofA reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and cash returns remain attractive — Darden declared a $1.50 quarterly dividend (roughly a 3% yield), which supports income investors and signals confidence in cash flow. Seeking Alpha: Dividend declared
• Neutral Sentiment: FY26 EPS guidance roughly in line — Darden set FY2026 EPS guidance at $10.50–$10.70, close to consensus, which reduces uncertainty but doesn’t materially change the valuation picture. MarketBeat: Guidance and call
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst views on valuation — Some firms reiterate Hold/Equal‑Weight ratings citing full valuation despite solid execution, suggesting limited near‑term upside for investors who focus on valuation. TickerReport: Stephens equal weight
• Negative Sentiment: Slight EPS miss pressured the stock — Reported EPS was $2.08 vs. the $2.09 consensus (a $0.01 miss), which, despite being tiny, triggered downside given elevated expectations and the stock’s recent run. Benzinga: What’s going on with DRI stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure from commodity costs — Beef and other commodity inflation compressed margins (especially at LongHorn); management expects easing but cost pressure remains a near‑term risk to profitability. Seeking Alpha: Margin pressure analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put buying and insider selling — Elevated put option activity and notable insider share sales were reported, which can add short‑term downside pressure or signal caution among some market participants. QuiverQuant: Options & insider activity

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $189.91 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $180.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.81. The firm has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.39.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.