United Community Bank Reduces Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

United Community Bank trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 39.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,051 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,867 shares during the period. United Community Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 14.2% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,486 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,061 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 195,699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,253,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.8% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, 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 transaction of $480,954.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DRI. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 report on Monday, December 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.78.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $199.35 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $191.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.65.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

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.