Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $27.23 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 138,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,441 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $27,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.8% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $194.77 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $202.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.80. The stock has a market cap of $22.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 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.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Stephens raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Seventeen 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This represents a 70.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.