BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Has $13.17 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 552.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,194 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 58,587 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $13,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAM Holding AG increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during 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 during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,564,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, apricus wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.2% in the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $213.39 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $193.81 and its 200-day moving average is $193.84. 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 capitalization of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Citigroup decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Mizuho raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,644.80. This represents a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 in the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.