Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 3,200 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $6,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after buying an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after acquiring an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $266,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 93,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,383,000 after purchasing an additional 10,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.82.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $182.29 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $196.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.55. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.89 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 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 will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

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.