Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,999 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,945 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $8,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,151,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,964,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $2,047,665.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $195.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $220.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.43%.

Darden Restaurants 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.