V Square Quantitative Management LLC Acquires 144 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,831 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $190.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.06. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738 in the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Argus decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.