QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,716 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,716 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $417,935,000 after acquiring an additional 596,863 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $191,980,000 after acquiring an additional 579,759 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,521,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 239.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,490,000 after purchasing an additional 509,655 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,512 shares of company stock valued at $3,468,016. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $208.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $186.92 and a 200-day moving average of $194.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.00.

About Darden Restaurants

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.