EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC Sells 422 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC cut its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.1% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 17,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,877,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 175,811 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 16,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 79,345 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,295,000 after purchasing an additional 21,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 780,978 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $170,203,000 after purchasing an additional 128,468 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of DRI opened at $175.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $190.32 and a 200 day moving average of $202.97. The company has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.40 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted 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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% 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 expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.82.

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.