BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Increases Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 552.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,194 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,587 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $13,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $153,977,000 after buying an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $417,935,000 after acquiring an additional 596,863 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,980,000 after acquiring an additional 579,759 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $125,521,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 239.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $157,490,000 after purchasing an additional 509,655 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $213.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $193.81 and its 200 day moving average is $193.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Melius Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average 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 the 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.