Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) CFO Sells $1,450,448.88 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.1%

DRI opened at $205.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.44.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.