National Pension Service Increases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 195,699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of Darden Restaurants worth $37,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,055,185 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,063,609,000 after acquiring an additional 284,814 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,071,746,000 after purchasing an additional 100,270 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,073,901 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $887,988,000 after buying an additional 75,701 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,134,246 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $680,418,000 after buying an additional 175,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $417,935,000 after buying an additional 596,863 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.78.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:DRI opened at $200.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.64. 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 fifty day moving average of $191.98 and a 200 day moving average of $193.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%.Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.