Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lessened its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,557 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,223 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 112.4% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 6,856 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 3,628 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,469 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,194 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective (down previously from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $212.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $196.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.98. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.02 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.89%.

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.