Forsta AP Fonden Sells 1,200 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DRI. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Mizuho began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were 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 directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.9%

DRI opened at $173.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.40 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $188.90 and a 200-day moving average of $202.59.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.