Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes for Darden Restaurants (DRI)

Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) has recently received a number of price target changes and ratings updates:

• 3/16/2026 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by Bank of America Corporation from $261.00 to $262.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 3/13/2026 – Darden Restaurants had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Sanford C. Bernstein.
• 3/12/2026 – Darden Restaurants had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by Stephens. They now have a $205.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/10/2026 – Darden Restaurants had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by UBS Group AG. They now have a $230.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/5/2026 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by Citigroup Inc. from $234.00 to $235.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 1/23/2026 – Darden Restaurants was upgraded by Melius Research from “hold” to “buy”.
• 1/23/2026 – Darden Restaurants was upgraded by Mizuho from “neutral” to “outperform”. They now have a $235.00 price target on the stock, up from $195.00.
• 1/21/2026 – Darden Restaurants had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by Raymond James Financial, Inc..

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,644.80. This trade represents a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.