Truist Financial Corp Acquires 123 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,778 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $15,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,728,000 after acquiring an additional 7,902 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 124.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738 over the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1%

DRI stock opened at $193.33 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.18 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $202.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40.

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

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.31%.

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.