Kentucky Retirement Systems Boosts Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 47.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,780 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.8% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on DRI. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. The trade was a 70.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 59,768 shares of company stock valued at $12,472,786 over the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Darden Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation, suggesting analysts generally view Darden’s long-term outlook favorably. Darden Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: LongHorn Steakhouse reportedly delivered strong momentum, with sales jumping 9.5%, supporting Darden’s strategy of relying on higher-growth brands to drive expansion. Darden CEO Sold Shares as LongHorn Jumped and Olive Garden Lagged
• Neutral Sentiment: Darden is pursuing a leaner growth path, which could improve efficiency and returns but may also signal a more measured expansion strategy. Darden Tests a Leaner Growth Path
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares for approximately $8.2 million after exercising options, reducing his direct holdings by about 31%. While the option-related structure may make the sale less concerning, the sizable transaction can weigh on sentiment. CEO Form 4 Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares worth about $1.8 million, cutting his position nearly 50%, while SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares. Multiple senior-executive sales may reinforce near-term selling pressure. Darden Insider Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden, Darden’s largest brand, lagged LongHorn, highlighting uneven brand performance and potential concerns about traffic and growth at the company’s core business. Brand Performance Report

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $207.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $203.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.18. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $220.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

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.