Allianz Asset Management GmbH Grows Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 1,195.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 149,286 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,763 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $32,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $748,215,000 after purchasing an additional 157,305 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $189,768,000 after purchasing an additional 136,382 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 625,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $129,943,000 after purchasing an additional 37,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $84,801,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $188.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $199.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.87. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.89 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.59.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.