Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 24,728 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 163.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,728 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $8,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $1,846,637.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. This trade represents a 32.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,490. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $216.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.89. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.50.

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.