Winthrop Partners WNY LLC Purchases Shares of 9,757 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,757 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,795,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Darden Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer reaffirmed an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $235, suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth in Darden’s upcoming quarterly report, and Zacks said the company appears positioned for a potential earnings beat, which can support the stock ahead of results. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch noted Darden’s shares rose in Thursday trading, but the stock still lagged the broader market, indicating only modest momentum rather than a clear catalyst-driven move. MarketWatch
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent analyst and preview articles highlight that investors are awaiting Darden’s fiscal Q4 results and are focused on operating metrics beyond revenue and EPS, but these pieces are more about positioning than a new fundamental development. The Globe and Mail
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an Equal Weight rating with a $210 target, implying limited downside/upside from current levels and reflecting a more cautious stance than bullish peers. Tickerreport.com

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $213.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $200.17 and a 200-day moving average of $199.70. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.04.

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.