Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Purchased by SevenBridge Financial Group LLC

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,087 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,808 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.33.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE DRI opened at $203.69 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $23.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.