Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) SVP Susan Connelly Sells 2,635 Shares of Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,635 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $214.96 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $185.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.00.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,555,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 33,423 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,361 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,059,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 248,403 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,711,000 after purchasing an additional 8,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.