Caprock Group LLC Takes $767,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $767,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.4% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,209 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 910 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 62,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,668,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,692 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 18.7% during the second quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,996 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $211.42 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $198.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on DRI shares. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.78.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.