Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 246,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 10,210 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $47,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 5.2%

NYSE:DRI opened at $230.74 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $210.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.10. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $231.36.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.05. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 58.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.34%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company’s portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.