AGP Franklin LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

AGP Franklin LLC lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 25.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,075 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,404 shares during the period. AGP Franklin LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DRI opened at $197.01 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $189.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.78.

About Darden Restaurants

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.