AE Wealth Management LLC Buys 3,027 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 164.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $207.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.78.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $205.44 on Wednesday. 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 $23.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.57. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.